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Trump Administration’s Rush to Roll Back Environmental Rules Hits a MAHA Wall
The Environmental Protection Agency is sitting on dozens of approvals for uses of “forever chemicals” at the direction of Administrator Lee Zeldin, over fears that it could anger Make America Healthy Again activists, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
The MAHA movement, championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pushed to limit chemicals in the U.S. food supply. Trump administration officials have had ongoing conversations with MAHA supporters, who are allied with the Republican Party but have also taken aim at some of the administration’s policies.
The move to delay approvals stands in contrast with the administration’s all-out effort to eliminate environmental regulations. Zeldin is rolling back dozens of regulations in what the EPA calls the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history, including relaxing controls on and speeding approvals of many other chemicals. Before taking office, Zeldin had previously vowed to clear the backlog left over by the Biden administration on approvals of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Texas Attorney General Probes Lululemon Over Potential ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Its Activewear
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into athleisure brand Lululemon over the potential presence of “forever chemicals” in its activewear, he said on Monday in a post on social-media platform X.
The probe will examine whether Lululemon’s athletic apparel contains PFAS, which the brand’s health-conscious customers would not expect based on its marketing, Paxton said. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widely used materials called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily in nature. Lululemon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
RFK Jr. Pouring ‘Huge Amounts of Money’ Into Glyphosate Studies
The Trump administration is spending large sums of federal cash to investigate a widely used herbicide that top international health organizations and scientists have already concluded causes cancer. EPA, which is empowered to restrict or ban glyphosate — sold under the brand name Roundup, is in the midst of its own court-ordered reassessment of the herbicide. The agency hasn’t shown it’s inclined to depart from its longstanding position that the weedkiller isn’t a carcinogen.
Meanwhile Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a former environmental attorney who fought Roundup manufacturer Monsanto in court over the chemical’s cancer risks — is reopening 30-year-old studies and investing in new research on glyphosate.
“We’re putting huge amounts of money into studying the impacts of glyphosate right now in my agency. I’m doing that,” Kennedy said in a Feb. 27 appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I don’t know if there is any safe level. That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now.”
Radon Gas Increases Risk of Ovarian Cancer, Study Says
U.S. News & World Report reported:
An invisible radioactive gas could be increasing women’s risk for ovarian cancer, a new study says. Women living in homes with elevated radon levels have higher odds of developing ovarian cancer, researchers reported April 10 in JAMA Network Open.
“The risks of ovarian cancer, particularly serous ovarian cancer, were significantly higher in the high radon zone,” concluded the research team led by Gary Schwartz, chair of population health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. These odds were even higher if a woman had a family history of breast cancer, the study found.
About 25% of Americans live in homes with radon levels of more than 4.0 pCi/L, the level at which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends action to mitigate exposure, researchers said. “Because serous ovarian cancer is highly fatal, and because radon levels in homes can be reduced, our findings could have large implications for ovarian cancer prevention,” the team wrote.
Radon gas is naturally released from rocks, soil and water. It can get trapped inside homes and build up, contaminating indoor air. Radon is considered the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., according to the EPA.
Microplastics in Human Tissue: Mounting Evidence Raises Cancer Concerns — but Causality Remains Unproven
A 2026 review led by Jason A. Somarelli at Duke University, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, synthesizes emerging evidence on micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) and their potential role in carcinogenesis. The paper does not present new experimental data but compiles findings across toxicology, epidemiology, and molecular biology. The authors conclude that MNPs — now detected in human blood, brain, lungs, placenta, and other tissues — may promote cancer through known biological pathways including chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and microbiome disruption. However, they emphasize that causal links in humans remain unproven.
Study Design: A Mechanistic Review, Not a Clinical Trial
This publication is a narrative scientific review synthesizing preclinical studies, occupational data, and emerging human observational findings. It integrates data from:
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- Tissue detection studies using spectroscopy and mass spectrometry
- Occupational exposure cohorts (plastics and rubber workers)
- Animal models examining ingestion and immune effects
- A 2024 cardiovascular outcomes study linking plaque microplastics to events
The review highlights the difficulty of measuring nanoplastics and the lack of long-term human exposure datasets—key barriers to definitive conclusions.
