Trump EPA issues draft guidance criticizing Biden-era risk assessment on cancer harms from “forever chemical” contaminated sludge applied to farms

The Trump administration has begun a new regulatory review of health risks tied to “forever chemicals” found in wastewater sludge applied to farm fields, according to a report by The Hill. The Environmental Protection Agency issued what it described as draft guidance that criticizes a Biden-era draft risk assessment detailing potential human health harms, including cancer concerns, from contaminated sludge used on agricultural land.

The EPA guidance targets the Biden administration’s approach to assessing risks associated with the practice of applying certain wastewater biosolids to crops and farmland. The Hill reported that the Trump EPA’s new draft guidance takes issue with how the Biden-era risk assessment described those hazards when “forever chemicals” contamination is present.

“Forever chemicals” is the common term for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of industrial chemicals that can persist in the environment. In the Biden-era framework cited by The Hill, the risk assessment tied exposure from contaminated sludge application to potential long-term health effects, including cancer, as part of its evaluation of human health impacts.

In its draft guidance, the EPA also questioned the Biden-era risk assessment’s conclusions as they relate to agricultural uses of contaminated materials, The Hill reported. The practical effect of the guidance, as described in the report, is to reposition how the federal government evaluates the risks of biosolids land application where PFAS contamination has been found or alleged.

The EPA action comes during a broader period of federal scrutiny over PFAS. It also reflects the Trump administration’s approach to revisiting prior environmental health assessments, particularly where agencies rely on technical studies to justify regulatory changes or enforcement posture.

According to The Hill, the Trump EPA’s draft guidance is part of the agency’s ongoing process and is expected to draw responses from states, industry groups, and public health advocates, especially because it challenges a Biden-era assessment that was widely viewed as a landmark analysis of potential cancer risk tied to contaminated sludge.

The next steps, based on the reporting, involve review of the draft EPA guidance and any subsequent revisions before the agency finalizes its position. The change underscores that the scientific framing of PFAS risks can affect downstream decisions on biosolids management, federal environmental oversight, and the requirements regulators may impose on entities that land-apply treated wastewater products.