EPA Grants Petition on Three PFAS Found in Fluorinated Plastic Containers
Released July 11, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a petition from the Center for Environmental Health, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Clean Cape Fear, Clean Water Action, Delaware Riverkeeper and Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) formed during the fluorination of plastic containers – perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). These PFAS have been found in plastic containers used for a variety of household consumer, pesticide, fuel, automotive and other industrial products.
Long-chain PFAS like PFOA, PFNA and PFDA build up in our bodies and the environment over time. Even small amounts can significantly contribute to people’s long-term exposure and health risk for cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children. To protect people from cancer and other serious health problems caused by exposure to harmful PFAS, earlier this year EPA included PFOA and PFNA in a national drinking water standard for PFAS and made PFOA one of the first two PFAS to be designated as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund.
This action furthers the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the impacts of these forever chemicals and advances EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to confront the serious human health and environmental risks of PFAS.
Background
In September 2020, EPA was made aware of PFAS contamination in a mosquitocide, and the Agency later determined that the PFAS found came from the fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic container used to store the product, which was manufactured by Inhance Technologies LLC (Inhance). EPA determined that when Inhance fluorinates containers, it manufactures many types of PFAS, including PFOA, PFNA and PFDA. EPA announced in March 2021 that these PFAS can migrate into liquid products in the containers and can continue migrating over time.
PFOA, PFNA and PFDA are subject to the 2020 long-chain PFAS significant new use rule which requires notice to EPA before chemical substances and mixtures are used in new ways.
In March 2022, EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance issued a Notice of Violation to Inhance for its manufacture of four PFAS, including PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA, without submitting the statutorily required notification to the Agency before it began manufacturing them. In September 2022, Inhance informed EPA that it intended to submit significant new use notices (SNUNs) for its manufacture of several PFAS.
After these actions, Inhance submitted SNUNs in December 2022 for nine long-chain PFAS created in the fluorination of its plastic containers, including PFOA, PFNA and PFDA. In December 2023, EPA issued orders under section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) directing the company to stop production of the PFAS. In these orders and associated risk assessment, EPA determined that three of the PFAS – PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA – are highly toxic and present unreasonable risks that cannot be prevented other than by prohibiting the manufacture of these chemicals. Inhance challenged the Agency’s orders, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the orders in March 2024.
In April 2024, the Center for Environmental Health, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Clean Cape Fear, Clean Water Action, Delaware Riverkeeper and Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water submitted a petition under TSCA Section 21 requesting that EPA establish regulations under TSCA Section 6 prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use, distribution in commerce and disposal of PFOA, PFNA and PFDA formed during the fluorination of plastic containers.
By granting this petition, EPA stated that it will promptly commence an appropriate proceeding under TSCA Section 6. EPA intends to request information, including the number, location, and uses of fluorinated containers in the United States; alternatives to the fluorination process that generates PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA; and measures to address risk from PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA formed during the fluorination of plastic containers.
Other EPA Actions on PFAS Formed During the Fluorination of Plastic Containers
In September 2021, EPA released an internally validated method for detecting 28 PFAS compounds in oily matrices. The method is intended to help pesticide manufacturers, state regulators, and other interested stakeholders test pesticide products formulated in oil, petroleum distillates, or mineral oils for PFAS.
In March 2022, EPA provided information to manufacturers (including importers), processors, distributors, users, and those that dispose of fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers and similar plastics (i.e., fluorinated polyolefins) about the potential for PFAS to form and migrate from these items. EPA released results from its evaluation of the leaching potential of PFAS from the walls of certain fluorinated HDPE containers into the liquids stored in those containers in September 2022.
In February 2024, EPA released a new method to detect 32 PFAS directly from the walls of containers made from HDPE. This new method allows industries that use HDPE containers and container manufacturers to test the containers before use, preventing PFAS contamination of products stored in these containers. The method also has wide applicability for other industries, as it can be modified to test for PFAS in additional solid samples such as fabric, packaging paper, and more.