New US Lawsuit Targets 'Forever Chemicals' in Plastic Food Containers; Cleaning, Home, Personal Care

[appalachiablue]

- 'New US lawsuit targets ‘forever chemicals’ in plastic food containers,' The Guardian, Dec. 27, 2022. - Ed. Suit alleges Inhance failed to follow EPA rules involving dangerous PFAS chemicals & asks a judge to halt production -

[Photo caption: A bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup. New study finds extremely high levels of toxic PFAS in plastic containers used to store ketchup, mayonnaise, cleaning supplies & more.]

A new lawsuit says many plastic containers used in the US to hold food, cleaning supplies, personal care items & 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 & 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 & 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 & heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down.

PFAS are linked to cancer, kidney disease, liver problems, immune disorders, birth defects & 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 & approval. The suit alleges that Inhance failed to do so, and asks a judge to order the company “to cease & desist from all manufacture & processing of [long chain PFAS] during the fluorination of plastic containers”.

[Your cutting board, utensils & coffee maker are among the long list of items in your kitchen that could be leaching dangerous chemicals. Wooden spoons, glass mugs: how to avoid toxic chemicals.]..

- Read More,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/27/lawsuit-houston-company-inhance-forever-chemicals-pfas
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- Also: US military ‘downplayed’ the number of soldiers exposed to ‘forever chemicals,’ The Guardian, Dec. 23, '22
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/23/us-soldiers-pfas-forever-chemicals-higher-rate-pentagon-military

[mopinko]

1. whatever the effect on consumers,

the workers in these plants take huge doses. cancers and reproductive issues have been known for a long time. bird owners have been railing for the last 3 decades about not only their dangers, but about how ubiquitous they are.
the most ridiculous uses i know of include- spraying them on clothes to make them ‘stain resistant’, a thing that killed a lot of little birds quickly. and the most outrageous, imho, was a toilet bowl cleaner w teflon. just dump that crap right in the water supply.
but there’s a reason you dont see the teflon brand any more. they started using euphemisms prolly 30 yrs ago.

[multigraincracker]

2. Look at maps that show PFAS sites.

One near me made paper wraps for fast foods.

[appalachiablue]

4. The Plastic Age of Chronic Disease & Profit. Workers, birds, humans, the earth. TX for the info.

[tanyev]

3. Well, crap. Marking to read later.

[cstanleytech]

5. I really wish we could go back to using glass for most products.

Especially because plastic does change the flavor slightly as almost anyone that has drunk coke from a glass bottle way back in the 80s can testify to.

[Javaman]

6. We gave it a good run in our household, but it's virtually impossible. nt

[intheflow]

8. I agree. Plastic should be used only for items that won't be ingested.

Like, I really love having plastic shampoo bottles because it's a danger to handle glass with wet, soapy hands. But for food? I won't even use plastic cutting boards because who wants microparticals of plastic with their chopped veggies and turkey dinner? It amazes me how clueless most people are about eating off of, microwaving food in, and storing food in plastic - or really, about the myriad of problems all plastic cause.

[They_Live]

7. k & r n/t