EPA Quietly Backtracks on Claims US Has Phased Out Toxic Pfas Compounds
Agency Changes Wording on Website as Texas-Based Chemical Firm Continues Manufacture of Plastic Containers
TL;DR
- The EPA has altered its website wording, admitting that Pfoa and Pfos are still produced in the US, contrary to previous claims of a "phase-out."
- Inhance, a company producing up to 200 million plastic containers annually, is allowed to continue manufacturing products from which Pfoa has been found to leach.
- Pfoa is classified as "carcinogenic to humans" and Pfos as "possibly carcinogenic" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, with virtually no safe level in drinking water.
- Critics like Kyla Bennett, a former EPA scientist, argue that "phase-outs" are inadequate and that the EPA needs to implement bans on these toxic chemicals.
- The EPA's reversal follows a complaint from the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), which highlighted the discrepancy between the agency's claims and the reality of ongoing Pfoa production.
- A legal battle has been ongoing for years regarding Inhance's Pfoa-infused containers, with the EPA previously ordering the company to cease production, a ban that was later overturned.
- Inhance denies that Pfoa leaches in measurable levels, calling it an "impurity" and stating that its products do not present an unreasonable risk to human health.