A new lawsuit says many plastic containers used in the US to hold food, cleaning supplies, personal care items and other consumer products are likely to be contaminated with toxic PFAS. It is now asking federal courts to halt their production.

The suit references soon-to-be-published research that found PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) from HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic containers leach at extremely high levels into ketchup, mayonnaise, olive oil and everyday products.

Inhance, a Houston-based company named as a defendant, produces tens of millions of consumer containers that contain PFAS, the consumer advocacy groups behind the lawsuit say. The plaintiffs ask a judge to order Inhance to follow Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that require it to receive approval for its production process.

The groups also charge that regulators have known of the potential health threat since early 2021 but have failed to eliminate it.

“It’s a grave concern for me that these containers are used for food, full stop,” said Kyla Bennett, a former EPA scientist who is now with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which brought the suit with the Center for Environmental Health.

“[Regulators] have known about this for a while and nobody has taken strong action to stop it, which is mind-boggling.”

PFAS are a class of about 12,000 compounds typically used to make products resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down. They are linked to cancer, kidney disease, liver problems, immune disorders, birth defects and other serious health problems.

Inhance treats plastic containers with fluorinated gas to create a barrier that helps keep products from degrading. The consumer groups say the process creates PFAS as a byproduct, including PFOA, one of the most dangerous of the class. EPA rules implemented in 2020 require companies manufacturing long-chain PFAS to submit for a safety review and approval.

The suit alleges that Inhance failed to do so, and asks a judge to order the company “to cease and desist from all manufacture and processing of [long chain PFAS] during the fluorination of plastic containers”.

In a statement to the Guardian, the Inhance chief commercial officer, Patricia van Ee, said: “We have been, and continue to be, in full compliance with all relevant regulations.”

The company learned from the EPA of the “potential for certain PFAS to be unintentionally produced in very low concentrations” and developed a method for reducing the chemicals to an undetectable level, Van Ee added.

The suit contradicts that claim. The EPA has found that virtually no level of exposure to PFOA is safe in drinking water.

Heather Whitehead, a researcher on a forthcoming University of Notre Dame study that found PFAS in plastic consumer products, said testing found two PFAS compounds leached at levels millions of times above the EPA advisory limits for drinking water. No legal limits have yet been set for food or for some compounds found in containers, though some governments are moving to ban the entire PFAS class.

Products leach more PFAS as they remain in the container, Whitehead said. She added that it was impossible to tell which containers are contaminated by looking at them but sturdier containers were more likely to have PFAS than those that crumple easily. Notre Dame has only tested HDPE containers and will next check those made of PET, or polyethylene terephthalate.

The new lawsuit was filed under a provision in US law that allows citizens to bring suits against polluters allegedly violating rules and not being held accountable by regulatory agencies.

The law requires citizens to first file a “notice of intent to sue”, giving companies and regulators 60 days to address the problem. The notice was filed in late October. Inhance continues producing fluorinated bottles.

The EPA filed suit against Inhance on 21 December. The suit was heavily redacted to conceal any mention of the company’s PFAS production because the agency cannot reveal confidential business practices. The redactions make it unclear if the EPA is asking the court to order Inhance to immediately halt production. The EPA did not comment.

Court filings show the EPA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) knew of the contamination over the last two years but have failed to stop production.

Bennett raised the alarm about PFAS in pesticides in December 2020. Several months later, the EPA issued a report on the likelihood that plastic fluorination was contaminating industrial containers with PFAS.

The EPA in January 2021 subpoenaed Inhance for information on its process. In July 2021, the Guardian reported on the use of PFAS in industrial containers that hold ingredients for food, essential oils and other products. The FDA told the Guardian it was waiting on the EPA for more information about whether PFAS could leach into food.

In March 2022, the EPA issued a violation notice ordering Inhance to “immediately cease” production if it had not yet eliminated the PFAS contamination. Inhance did not respond until September, stating it would submit its process for review while refusing to cease production. Still, the EPA did not file a lawsuit or alert the public.

The consumer groups behind the suit grew suspicious that contaminated bottles were being widely distributed. In July 2022, container testing began. Once the lawsuit was filed, the EPA filed its own suit 56 days later.

The agency had been “playing footsies” with Inhance instead of taking forceful action, said Bob Sussman, an attorney for the consumer groups.

The FDA wrote in a December letter to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility there was no evidence food was being stored in containers produced by Inhance. Despite the remaining questions, the FDA is not testing plastic food packaging for PFAS.

“We don’t think the EPA or FDA has any idea how widespread this is, or how much contamination this is resulting in, and that’s a problem,” Bennett said. “Why is it being left to NGO’s to do this?”

135 Comments

  15. Everything information about medication. Long-Term Effects.
    https://stromectolst.com/# stromectol nz
    Read information now. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.

  16. Get here. Get information now.
    https://stromectolst.com/# price of ivermectin
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Drugs information sheet.

  17. Get warning information here. Drug information.
    stromectol xr
    Generic Name. Everything information about medication.

  18. Everything about medicine. Get here.
    https://stromectolst.com/# buy ivermectin for humans uk
    Get warning information here. safe and effective drugs are available.

  19. All trends of medicament. Get here.
    https://stromectolst.com/# buy stromectol
    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Everything about medicine.

  20. Read information now. Get here.
    ivermectin brand
    Actual trends of drug. Medicament prescribing information.

  21. earch our drug database. Drugs information sheet.
    ivermectin 1
    safe and effective drugs are available. What side effects can this medication cause?

  22. Read information now. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    ivermectin 5 mg price
    safe and effective drugs are available. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.

  23. Read now. Read now.
    https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin cream 1%
    What side effects can this medication cause? Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.

  26. Cautions. п»їMedicament prescribing information.
    generic ivermectin cream
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. п»їMedicament prescribing information.

  27. All trends of medicament. Cautions.
    https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin cream uk
    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.

  30. Drug information. Best and news about drug.
    https://levaquin.science/# can i buy cheap levaquin tablets
    Everything information about medication. Everything about medicine.

  31. Get warning information here. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
    zestoretic price
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Get here.

  32. Cautions. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    get levaquin prices
    Drugs information sheet. Read here.

  33. Get information now. Everything information about medication.
    https://nexium.top/# order generic nexium without insurance
    Get warning information here. Get here.

  35. Get information now. drug information and news for professionals and consumers. get avodart tablets
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Long-Term Effects.

  37. earch our drug database. drug information and news for professionals and consumers. https://avodart.science/# cost of avodart
    Read information now. All trends of medicament.

  38. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. What side effects can this medication cause?
    how to get mobic tablets
    п»їMedicament prescribing information. Get information now.

  41. Get information now. Everything information about medication.
    propecia price
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Cautions.

  45. Read here. Read now.
    https://finasteridest.online buying propecia without insurance
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.

  51. Some trends of drugs. safe and effective drugs are available. https://amoxicillins.online/ amoxicillin generic
    Everything about medicine. п»їMedicament prescribing information.

  52. Everything about medicine. Drugs information sheet.
    https://azithromycins.com/ zithromax over the counter canada
    п»їMedicament prescribing information. safe and effective drugs are available.

  54. Everything information about medication. safe and effective drugs are available.
    https://finasteridest.com/ propecia without rx
    Everything information about medication. Some trends of drugs.

  55. Some trends of drugs. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
    https://finasteridest.online how can i get generic propecia without a prescription
    Read information now. Best and news about drug.

  56. Drug information. Get warning information here. amoxicillin without rx
    Best and news about drug. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.

  58. safe and effective drugs are available. Get warning information here.
    ed pills that work
    Everything information about medication. earch our drug database.

  59. All trends of medicament. Generic Name.
    best ed medications
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Drug information.

  60. Everything about medicine. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
    ed drugs compared
    Medscape Drugs & Diseases. earch our drug database.

  62. Get information now. Read information now.
    https://clomiphenes.online can i order generic clomid price
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.

  63. Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Everything about medicine.
    best ed medications
    All trends of medicament. Get warning information here.

  64. earch our drug database. Drugs information sheet.
    https://edonlinefast.com ed pills that really work
    Get warning information here. Read information now.

  65. Some trends of drugs. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
    https://edonlinefast.com cheap erectile dysfunction pills online
    Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Generic Name.

  66. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    buy canadian drugs
    Best and news about drug. earch our drug database.

  67. Get information now. What side effects can this medication cause?
    ed meds online canada
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.

  70. Get warning information here. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    reliable canadian pharmacy reviews
    safe and effective drugs are available. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.

  72. Actual trends of drug. Get warning information here.
    https://canadianfast.online/# buy prescription drugs from canada
    Everything information about medication. Read now.

  73. All trends of medicament. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
    https://canadianfast.com/# canadian drugstore online
    Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Get here.

  76. safe and effective drugs are available. п»їMedicament prescribing information.
    https://canadianfast.online/# buy prescription drugs online
    Everything what you want to know about pills. Everything about medicine.

  77. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Get here.
    canadian drugs pharmacy
    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. earch our drug database.

  78. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
    online pharmacy canada
    Read now. Top 100 Searched Drugs.

  79. Get warning information here. Everything what you want to know about pills.
    https://canadianfast.com/# prescription drugs canada buy online
    Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. earch our drug database.

  86. Get warning information here. Long-Term Effects.
    viagra free trial
    Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.

  87. Top 100 Searched Drugs. Medicament prescribing information.
    150 mg sildenafil
    What side effects can this medication cause? safe and effective drugs are available.

  93. Actual trends of drug. Everything about medicine.
    cialis 20 mg tablets
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Everything information about medication.

  95. earch our drug database. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
    tadalafil tablets 20 mg cost
    Top 100 Searched Drugs. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.

  101. Everything about medicine. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.

    cost generic propecia prices
    safe and effective drugs are available. All trends of medicament.

  103. I think the admin of this site is genuinely working hard in support of his web page,
    a href=”https://casinomoab.com/”>온라인카지노 as here every data is quality based data.

  119. I wonder how so much effort you place to make one of these fantastic info web site.
    “성인웹툰”thank you i love it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *