Lynn L. Bergeson and Christopher Blunck Quoted in Chemical Watch Article “US EPA issues rare TSCA orders to prohibit PFAS produced in plastic fluorination”

On December 4, 2023, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson and Christopher Blunck were featured in Chemical Watch’s article regarding a TSCA section 5(f) orders prohibiting Texas-based Inhance Technologies from producing certain PFAS when fluorinating plastic containers, a move the company said will threaten its “very existence” and affect thousands of downstream businesses.

According to Bergeson & Campbell managing partner Lynn Bergeson, the severity of the remedy (cessation of production) explains why 5(f) is so seldom used. 

“Here, the fact that the substances are byproducts make this determination all the more shocking,” Bergeson said. “If 5(f) is used here, it can be used in other, equally disturbing, contexts.” 

[…]

Christopher Blunck, of counsel at Bergeson & Campbell, said Inhance “could, and no doubt will, challenge the orders” at the appellate level. Moreover, it is possible that the district court litigation could progress concurrently with the anticipated action at the appellate court.

In a future lawsuit, Inhance could seek an injunction to block enforcement of the orders, Blunck said, and it may be successful in securing one since the orders “seem tenuous, and it seems Inhance’s business would be substantially impacted/irreparably harmed if not worse”. 

See – https://chemicalwatch.com/910519/us-epa-issues-rare-tsca-orders-to-prohibit-pfas-produced-in-plastic-fluorination (subscription required)