紐時賞析／美環保署放寬飲用水PFAS管制

EPA to End Some Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

美環保署放寬飲用水PFAS管制

The Trump administration announced Monday that it will drop some limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water that officials had determined can cause cancer and other serious health problems — angering some key activists who had supported President Donald Trump’s campaign.

川普政府宣布，將放寬飲用水中「永久性化學物質」的部分管制標準。此前官方已認定這些物質可能導致癌症和其他嚴重健康問題，此舉惹惱總統大選時票投川普的某些重要維權人士。

The Environmental Protection Agency said it would unravel the nation’s first federal drinking water limits for the compounds, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The Biden administration established the limits on six of the substances in 2024, after the agency determined that long-term exposure to PFAS was linked to kidney cancer, immune system suppression, developmental delays in infants and children, and other issues.

美國環保署表示，將撤銷全國首套針對全氟烷基和多氟烷基物質，又稱永久性化學物質的聯邦飲用水管制標準。拜登政府在2024年訂定其中六種物質的管制上限，此前環保署已確認長期暴露於PFAS與腎癌、免疫系統受損、嬰幼兒發育遲緩等健康問題有關。

Instead, the Trump administration will issue narrower regulations that rescind protections for four of the substances and continue to protect against two of the them, though companies will be able to request two extra years to comply with those.

取而代之的是，川普政府將推出較寬鬆的規定，取消其中四種物質的管制，僅保留對另外兩種物質的防護，另允許企業申請額外兩年的緩衝期來符合新標準。

But the move, which had been planned for more than a year, has sparked fury within the Make America Healthy Again movement, a diverse group of anti-vaccine activists, wellness influencers and others who make up a key part of Trump’s coalition.

然而，這項早已規畫超過一年的決定，卻在「讓美國再次健康」陣營內部引震怒。這個運動由不同背景的反疫苗維權人士、養生網紅等團體組成，是川普的重要基本盤。

Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, sought to counter that anger by appearing Monday with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary who spearheaded the MAHA movement, and announcing nearly $1 billion to help states address the contaminants in drinking water.

環保署長李修頓與衛生部長小羅勃．甘迺迪一同現身，試圖平息眾怒。甘迺迪是MAHA運動的主要推動者。兩人同時宣布將撥款近10億美元，協助各州處理飲用水中的汙染物。

“They persist in the environment, they build up in the human body, and addressing them is not optional. It is essential to making America healthy again,” Zeldin said at an event in the wood-paneled Map Room on the first floor of the EPA headquarters.

李修頓在環保署本部一樓木板裝潢的會議室表示：「這些物質會長期存在於環境中，並在人體內累積，因此處理它們並非可有可無，而是實現『讓美國再次健康』的必要作為。」。

Zeldin argued that the Biden administration made procedural errors with its drinking water standards and said his EPA will regulate “the right way, following the law and following the science.” He has also raised concerns that water systems could pass costs on to consumers if the compliance deadline wasn’t pushed back.

李修頓批評拜登政府在訂定飲用水標準時程序有瑕疵，強調他主政的環保署將「以正確方式、依法且依科學」進行管制。他也擔心，如果不延長合規期限，供水系統可能會把成本轉嫁給消費者。

The Biden administration had estimated the rule would cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year, but Congress in 2020 provided about $9 billion to improve drinking water and address chemicals like PFAS.

拜登政府估計該規定每年執行成本約15億美元，國會在2020年已編列約90億美元，用於改善飲用水品質和處理PFAS等化學物質。

The Trump administration will continue to protect communities from the chemicals present in the tap water of millions of Americans, Zeldin said. He highlighted the work of companies that create technologies to capture and destroy the substances.

李修頓表示，川普政府仍將繼續保護數百萬美國民眾免受自來水中的這些化學物質危害。他特別強調，已經有企業開發出能夠捕捉並分解這些永久性化學物質的技術。

文／Lisa Friedman，譯／國際中心

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【張佑生】

政策新聞的用字遣詞值得探究，以免被話術洗腦而不自知。川普的環保署長李修頓並沒有直接說拜登的政策內容（實質）是錯的，而是強調拜登政府在推動這項政策的過程中有程序瑕疵(procedural errors)。以程序問題為由，實質推翻前任政府的規定，台灣民眾對此當不陌生。

Unravel有「原本結構完整的體系被慢慢拆開、導致鬆散或崩解」的意思，常見於政治、法律、政策報導。His government began to unravel because of a banking scandal.

在正式語境中，rescind表示「撤銷或廢止」一項決定、命令或契約，原本有效，但自某一時點起不再生效。Annul是「自始無效、絕對無效，當然無效」，尤其在法律或婚姻契約中使用。婚姻的無效宣告，法律效力和離婚大不相同。

早期政府會議室常掛滿世界地圖，用來討論軍事、外交或重要政策，因此被稱為Map Room，二戰時期小羅斯福總統常在白宮的Map Room研究戰況地圖，現在不一定真的掛滿地圖。文中特別提到 “wood-paneled Map Room”，強調這間會議室以木板裝潢為主，代表這是一間較正式、具歷史感的會議空間。