US appeals court kills ban on plastic containers contaminated with PFAS

March 30, 2024

Read the full article by Tom Perkins (The Guardian)

"A federal appeals court in the US has killed a ban on plastic containers contaminated with highly toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” found to leach at alarming levels into food, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides and other products across the economy.

Houston-based Inhance manufactures an estimated 200m containers annually with a process that creates, among other chemicals, PFOA, a toxic PFAS compound. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December prohibited Inhance from using the manufacturing process.

But the conservative fifth circuit court of appeals court overturned the ban. The judges did not deny the containers’ health risks, but said the EPA could not regulate the buckets under the statute it used."

Location:

• North AmericaUS

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Products
• ProductsFood contact materials
• SourcesManufacturing facilities
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Health
• Regulations
• RegulationsStandards
• Litigation
• AgenciesEPA