Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Monday that the agency would take several actions to reduce exposure to long-lasting harmful chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.”

PFAS can be found in a range of consumer products, including shampoo, electronics, clothing, and cleaning products. The chemicals are deemed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, resulting in their presence in the environment, such as water or soil.

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“I have long been concerned about PFAS and the efforts to help states and communities dealing with legacy contamination in their backyards,” Zeldin said in a statement.

“With today’s announcement, we are tackling PFAS from all of EPA’s program offices, advancing research and testing, stopping PFAS from getting into drinking water systems, holding polluters accountable, and providing certainty for passive receivers,” Zeldin said. “This is just a start of the work we will do on PFAS to ensure Americans have the cleanest air, land, and water.”

The EPA has vowed to take several actions to address PFAS, such as designating an agency lead to manage the PFAS efforts. It will also implement new testing strategies, update guidelines, identify and address information gaps, and ramp up the development of testing methods to improve detection and strategies to address PFAS.

Agency officials said they would seek to fulfill statutory obligations, such as addressing the significant compliance challenges and requests from Congress and drinking water systems related to national primary drinking water regulations for certain PFAS .

It would also consider adding PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory, as mandated by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. EPA officials said they would work with Congress to create a liability framework that operates on the polluter pays principle and protects passive receivers . The agency would also collaborate with states to assess risks from PFAS contamination.

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President Donald Trump has taken actions to weaken or undo many climate and energy regulations, but he has also vowed to ensure the U.S. has the cleanest air and water.

During his first term, the Trump administration began to take steps to regulate PFAS. Those efforts were later enhanced during former President Joe Biden’s administration.