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Ranking Member Pingree: Trump’s EPA is Failing to Protect Americans from ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination

Following reports that the EPA is withholding a critical toxicity assessment that was due out in April, Pingree is demanding answers from Administrator Zeldin.

Washington, October 16, 2025
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee, is calling for transparency and immediate action from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after it was reported the Agency is withholding a long-delayed “forever chemical” risk assessment. The EPA’s report on a PFAS compound called Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA) concluded that PFNA can cause developmental, liver, and reproductive harm, including lower birth weights and reduced testosterone and sperm levels. According to ProPublica’s reporting, internal EPA documents and agency scientists confirmed that the report was “completed and ready to post” in April, needing only final briefings to leadership.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Pingree said the delay is part of a “growing pattern of interference with the Agency’s scientific work.” 

“The delay in issuing the PFNA report coincided with EPA’s decision, in May of this year, to rescind some PFAS Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, one of which happens to be PFNA,” Pingree said. “This seems to be more than coincidence given that there has been strong industry pushback on regulating PFAS.”

“We both know that PFAS poses a significant public health threat to our water, food supply, and farming communities. It is necessary to take steps to combat PFAS contamination, yet this delay and erosion of capacity directly contradict your repeated public statements about both transparency and the need for strong, science-based PFAS policies,” she continued.

Pingree called on Zeldin to explain the delay—including who directed it—and asks when he will commit to releasing the PFNA assessment and ensuring future IRIS reports are free from political interference.

The letter is available here and copied below. 

Background

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are dangerous man-made “forever chemicals” that pose serious risks to public health and the environment, appearing at our former military installations, farms, and water systems. PFAS chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. These chemicals have been linked to harmful human health effects, including cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and weakened immune systems.

This is an urgent public health and environmental threat, and it’s growing at an alarming rate—in Maine, there have been more than 30,000 records of PFAS at close to 250 sites across the state.

Earlier this year, the EPA announced plans to rescind and reconsider limits on four “forever chemicals”—weakening landmark drinking water standards implemented under President Biden.

In July, Pingree and David Rouzer (R-N.C.) reintroduced the bipartisan Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act, or the Healthy H2O Act, to help make water testing and treatment technology more accessible by providing grants for water testing and treatment technology directly to individuals and nonprofits in rural communities. 

In both the Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bills, Pingree secured $8 million for the EPA to work to further research on PFAS contamination in agriculture, and EPA awarded $15 million in grant funding to ten institutions last September to research and reduce exposure to PFAS in agriculture.

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Dear Administrator Zeldin,

I write to you today regarding reports that your Agency is withholding a scientific assessment on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and a growing pattern of interference with the Agency’s scientific work, especially towards the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program. A recent article states that the EPA is delaying the release of a report on a PFAS compound called Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA) that was due out in April of this year.

The delay in issuing the PFNA report coincided with EPA’s decision, in May of this year, to rescind some PFAS Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, one of which happens to be PFNA. This seems to be more than coincidence given that there has been strong industry pushback on regulating PFAS. The Trump Administration, Republicans in Congress, and industry have been hostile to the IRIS program which conducts these assessments. IRIS has consistently been a target with repeated attempts to weaken or dismantle its ability to perform independent scientific reviews of chemicals, like PFNA.

 We both know that PFAS poses a significant public health threat to our water, food supply, and farming communities. It is necessary to take steps to combat PFAS contamination, yet this delay and erosion of capacity directly contradict your repeated public statements about both transparency and the need for strong, science-based PFAS policies. You recently announced the PFAS OUTreach Initiative to help protect communities and ensure water systems are in compliance with PFAS drinking water standards by providing resources, tools, and technical assistance. But by not releasing this report you are limiting the Agency’s ability to provide that assistance and ultimately protect communities from PFAS contamination.

I request clear answers to the following:

  1. Why has the PFNA toxicity assessment not been released? Who directed its delay?
  2. Have IRIS staff been reassigned or reduced under your leadership, if so, why?
  3. When will you commit to releasing the PFNA assessment publicly and ensuring that future IRIS reports are published without political interference?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter that concerns the health of millions of Americans.

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