The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Inhance Technologies to stop producing three “forever chemicals” by the end of February 2024. These chemicals are generated during the manufacturing process for fluorinated HDPE. Inhance Technologies, a Houston-based company, has contested the EPA’s decision, which it considers to be a ban on producing containers. The company […]
A federal appellate court has agreed to expedite its review of Inhance Technologies LLC’s challenge to an EPA order that would shut down its 11 plastic bottle fluorination factories. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans granted an administrative stay that temporarily blocks the EPA’s Dec. 1 order while the court review is […]
An Ohio state court must decide whether Admiral Insurance Co. has to provide coverage to a company whose clothing products allegedly caused cancer in firefighters and their spouses, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. Medina, Ohio-based Fire-Dex LLC, which is facing an array of lawsuits over the firefighter clothing it manufactures, asked Admiral to defend […]
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a blog item on September 18, 2023, entitled “Now’s the Time — How EPA Can Use TSCA to Turn Off the PFAS Tap.” According to EDF, for both previously approved per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and for new PFAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should: Use the Best […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not the only federal agency that regulates per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). And states aren’t the only ones scrutinizing PFAS in food packaging products. PFAS, which are wholly synthetic compounds of carbon, fluorine and other elements, are manufactured in chains of various lengths. Long-chain PFAS which are generally […]
Recently published research by Verdantix created a spotlight on the need for product compliance solutions, specifically referencing Assent. The report advised that “Excel and paper-based solutions are inadequate for organizations that need to track PFAS compliance and communicate performance to internal and external stakeholders as their operational complexity scales.” – Verdantix, Strategic Focus: Innovative Solutions […]
Experts say that the majority of the 86,000 consumer chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency have never received vigorous toxicity testing. This article is copublished with the Examination, a new non-profit newsroom specializing in global health reporting. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), found in the body of most Americans, is just one of dozens of chemicals […]
A new study suggests per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as forever chemicals or PFAS, reduce the activity of human immune cells. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, showed PFAS can impair health by reducing this activity. The study, recently published in Chemosphere, also featured a method that “could be used to reveal the immunomodulatory […]
Maine recently delayed the January 2024 implementation of a first-of-its-kind law requiring manufacturers to disclose PFAS in products sold in the state, effectively banning PFAS in most such products by 2030. Manufacturers of products containing PFAS now have until January 2025 to report them. Meanwhile, Maine also created two reporting exemptions — one for businesses […]
Fluoropolymers’ myriad uses mean a ban could have widespread implications. A full-scale furor is erupting in Europe, pitting industry against government. The European Commission (EC) is proposing that all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) be banned because it says they are persistent, can be toxic, and can bioaccumulate in organisms—including people. The ban would include […]