Inhance sues EPA to keep PFAS data confidential

Inhance Technologies, a small Texas-based company that fluorinates plastic containers, is fighting to keep its R&D testing data confidential. In a lawsuit filed against the US Environmental Protection Agency on April 2, the firm claims that disclosure of data related to long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in treated containers would cause significant competitive harm.

Through its R&D program, Inhance improved its fluorination process in a way that reduces potential PFAS formation and deployed that process to each of its treatment facilities, the firm said in the complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

The EPA first identified PFAS contamination in plastic containers treated by Inhance in 2020 and began investigating the issue under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2022. As part of that process, the agency ordered Inhance to submit all data relevant to the formation of PFAS in the treated containers.

In December 2023, the EPA ordered Inhance to stop producing six PFAS, three of which—perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, and perfluorodecanoic acid—are highly toxic to human health. Inhance challenged the order, which was ultimately thrown out by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in March 2024.

Two environmental groups, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), are seeking data related to the presence of PFAS in plastic containers treated by Inhance as well as the company’s customer information. The groups first requested the data from the EPA under the Freedom of Information Act in January 2023.

The EPA provided some of the documents but heavily redacted the test data, says Bob Sussman, attorney for the CEH. “There was so little identifying information that was provided, so we filed suit again against the EPA under FOIA to get this information,” he says.

At that point, in early 2024, the EPA began a lengthy review process with Inhance to determine whether the data requested by the environmental groups can be considered confidential business information (CBI) under TSCA. The environmental groups claim that the data cannot be considered CBI, because disclosure is necessary to protect public health and the environment.

The EPA has yet to make its decision public, but in the complaint filed on April 2, Inhance states that the “EPA rejected Inhance’s request to withhold highly confidential test data generated through its proprietary research and development program.” The EPA would not confirm that it rejected Inhance’s request. “As a matter of longstanding practice, EPA cannot comment on any current or ongoing litigation,” an EPA spokesperson says in an email.

Inhance fluorinates plastic containers, primarily those made from high-density polyethylene, to create a strong lining that keeps hazardous chemicals from leaching out of the containers and keeps environmental contaminants from getting in. According to the firm’s April 2 complaint, “Inhance fluorinates more than one hundred million containers a year, and industries like healthcare, crop protection, and outdoor power equipment all depend on Inhance’s fluorination process to allow their products to be safely stored and marketed.” The company has been providing the service for more than 40 years.

Inhance is the only firm in the US that fluorinates plastic containers using a process that creates small amounts of PFAS impurities. The company did not respond to a request for comments from C&EN on how it would be harmed by the EPA’s disclosure of the PFAS testing data.