Two environmental health groups are asking a federal appeals court to reconsider a lower court’s decision rejecting their plea for expedited action to prevent further spread of “forever chemicals” from plastic barrels.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Center for Environmental Health filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Dec. 26, two weeks after a federal district judge in D.C. rejected the groups’ request for injunctive relief.
PEER and CEH have argued that EPA has not taken adequate measures to address leaching of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from plastic containers into the environment, a major source of PFAS contamination.
Chief Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said EPA has fulfilled its duties under the Toxic Substances Control Act by granting a petition in July that initiates a rulemaking process to collect additional data on the issue.
