US court overturns EPA's ban on PFAS generated during manufacturing process

On March 21, 2024, a US court issued an important ruling against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), overturning the ban issued by EPA in December 2023. The EPA ban requires Inhance Technologies in Texas to change its fluorination process or suspend its long-standing fluorinated plastic container process to prevent the production of long-chain perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS). The US court held that the EPA's actions exceeded the scope authorized by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Inhance Technologies has been using specific technology to fluorinate plastic containers since 1983 to create a barrier that prevents the exchange of harmful substances inside and outside the container. The long-chain perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) generated during this processing are difficult to decompose chemicals that are widely used and may cause health problems such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Inhance ultimately did not adopt the EPA's ban, change its process, or stop fluorinating containers, but instead submitted two significant new use notifications (SNUNs) to the EPA.

The US court pointed out that TSCA Section 5 aims to regulate the initial manufacturing stage of substances, and the Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) implemented by EPA targets new uses of a chemical substance that may pose unreasonable risks to health or the environment, rather than long-term manufacturing processes. In addition, the EPA did not include the fluorine industry as an affected industry in its proposed and finalized Significant New Use Rules (SNUR).

The court's ruling emphasizes that EPA cannot arbitrarily extend the definition of "significant new use" to long-standing manufacturing processes. Although this decision prevented further action by EPA, it did not deprive EPA of the ability to take appropriate procedures to regulate the Inhance fluorination process under TSCA Section 6.

This ruling ensures that businesses operate within a clear and reasonable legal framework, while reminding federal agencies to comply with the rules set by Congress.