On March 21, 2024, the U.S. court issued a significant ruling against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), overturning an EPA ban issued in December 2023. The ban required Inhance Technologies, based in Texas, to modify its fluorination process or suspend its decades-old fluorination of plastic containers process to prevent the generation of long-chain perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The court held that the EPA exceeded its statutory authority under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA).
Inhance Technologies has been employing a specific technology to fluorinate plastic containers since 1983, creating a barrier that prevents the exchange of harmful substances inside and outside the containers. The process generates long-chain PFAS, a class of chemicals that are difficult to decompose and are widely used, potentially leading to health issues such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Inhance did not comply with the EPA's ban to alter its process or cease container fluorination; instead, it submitted two Significant New Use Notices (SNUNs) to the EPA.
The U.S. court pointed out that Section 5 of the TSCA aims to regulate the initial manufacturing of substances, and the Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) by the EPA are aimed at new uses of a chemical that may pose an unreasonable risk on health or the environment, not at long-standing manufacturing processes. Additionally, the EPA did not identify the fluorination industry as an affected industry in its proposed and final SNURs.
The court's decision emphasized that the EPA cannot expand the definition of significant new use to include long-standing manufacturing processes. While this ruling prevents further actions by the EPA, it does not deprive the EPA of the rightto regulate Inhance's fluorination process under Section 6 of the TSCA through appropriate procedures.
The ruling ensures that enterprises can operate within a clear and reasonable legal framework, while reminding federal agencies to adhere to the rules set by Congress.
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