The Environmental Protection Agency has released a method for measuring PFAS contamination in high density polyethylene containers, a step the agency said will allow industries that use fluorinated plastic bottles and products to better test for potential leaks of the toxic chemical.
The Feb. 15 announcement comes amid a broader EPA crackdown on using fluorinated coatings on HDPE containers, with the agency saying the process can unintentionally release harmful long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from the bottles into the environment.
One maker of such coatings, Houston-based Inhance Technologies LLC, sued the EPA over an agency order in December that the company said would shut it down. The two sides argued before a federal appeals court in early February, with the court at times appearing skeptical of the EPA order.
One observer sees EPA's new testing methodology as a significant development.
BP Polymers LLC, an Inhance competitor that makes nonfluorinated coating technology that's not impacted by the EPA crackdown, said the new testing protocols put "on notice" the pesticide industry and others that rely on the coatings to protect HDPE
"We believe that this announcement by the EPA regarding a new methodology for assessing PFAS contamination in fluorinated HDPE containers [is] quite significant," said Kevin Callahan, BP's chief operating officer.
"Clearly, the EPA has put the pesticide industry on notice, and other industry users of fluorinated HDPE containers, in reiterating their scientific findings that fluorination of plastic containers as outlined by the EPA is very problematic for the environment and consequently human exposure," he said.
In its announcement, EPA said the tests allow reliable measurement of 32 PFAS chemicals from the walls of a container.
"In releasing this method to the public, EPA is enabling the industries that utilize HDPE containers, including container manufacturers, to test the containers before use, preventing PFAS contamination of pesticides and other products stored in HDPE plastic containers," the agency said.
The testing announcement came on the same day that two environmental groups announced they were suing the EPA in federal court in Washington, accusing it of concealing testing data from the Inhance process and improperly considering it confidential business information.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Center for Environmental Health said they filed public records requests for the information in early January but said EPA had not responded yet.
"The cloak of confidential business information cannot be used to hide health and safety studies as EPA is currently doing," said Colleen Teubner, litigation and policy attorney for PEER. "By sitting on this critical information, EPA is advancing the private interests of a corporate violator and shirking its public health responsibilities."
EPA told Bloomberg Law that it declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation.