The Biden administration and Congress are stepping up efforts to control the release and cleanup of poly and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in drinking water sources and elsewhere, joining states that have expanded scrutiny of the chemicals, which are used widely in manufacturing and are extremely persistent in the environment.
President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget and $2-trillion infrastructure program would provide new funding to accelerate toxicity study and remediation, while a bipartisan House bill would deem the compounds hazardous substances. But manufacturers in at least one state are pushing back on planned regulation of “forever chemicals” in a lawsuit to limit the scope.