US EPA orders packaging firm Inhance to stop making PFAS

By Britt E. Erickson | c&en | December 6, 2023

Read the full article by Britt E. Erickson (c&en)

"The US Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on a fluorination process that enhances the barrier properties of certain plastic containers. The agency says the process, used by Inhance Technologies to treat millions of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers each year, creates dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) impurities that can leach into products stored in the treated containers.

In a Dec. 1 notice, the EPA ordered Inhance to stop producing the PFAS by Feb. 28, 2024. The agency says that nine PFAS are created by the company’s fluorination process. Three of them—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid, and perfluorodecanoic acid—are highly toxic. Additional testing is needed to determine whether the other six pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment, the EPA says.

Inhance claims in a news release responding to the EPA’s order that it has modified its fluorination process over the past 2 years, resulting in a more-than-90% decrease in PFAS impurities. PFAS are undetectable in nearly all of its fluorinated plastic packaging, the company says."

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• ChemicalsPFOA
• Products
• SourcesManufacturing facilities
• Health
• Measurement Techniques
• Monitoring Data
• PFAS Uses