US appeals court kills ban on plastic containers contaminated with PFAS

Conservative fifth circuit overturns EPA's ban prohibiting Inhance from using manufacturing process creating toxic compound

A federal appeals court in the US has killed a ban on plastic containers contaminated with highly toxic PFAS forever chemicals" found to leach at alarming levels into food, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides and other products across the economy.

Houston-based Inhance manufactures an estimated 200m containers annually with a process that creates, among other chemicals, PFOA, a toxic PFAS compound. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December prohibited Inhance from using the manufacturing process.

This article was corrected on 1 April 2024 to correct the company name Inhance in relation to a quote and to clarify Inhance's relationships with regulators.