Inhance can continue to fluorinate plastic containers

The US Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority when it ordered Texas-based Inhance Technologies to stop making per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as by-products of the firm's fluorination process, a federal appeals court ruled March 21 . The decision allows Inhance to continue using fluorine gas to strengthen the barrier properties of containers made from high-density polyethylene , even though the process unintentionally creates small amounts of PFAS. The EPA confirmed in 2022 that PFAS can leach out of fluorinated containers like those treated by Inhance and into liquids, such as pesticides, that they store. The agency warned Inhance that manufacturing PFAS without notifying the EPA in advance violates what is known as a significant new use rule. The rule, which applies to certain long-chain PFAS, was finalized in 2020 under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Inhance says it was unaware until 2022 that its fluorination process creates PFAS