US appeals court vacates EPA rule on PVC plant emissions

21 April 2005 18:18  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--A federal appeals court has vacated the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s final rule establishing emission standards for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants after finding the agency failed to properly set limits on certain hazardous air pollutants emitted during PVC production.

 

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected EPA's request for a rehearing and directed the agency to devise new regulations for controlling toxic air emissions from PVC plants.

 

“This decision gives people in the communities near PVC plants a breath of fresh air,” said Jim Pew, an attorney with Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. “EPA will now have to write a new rule from scratch and, this time, it will have to do a better job.”

 

The PVC plant rule issued by EPA in July 2002 readopted 1970s-era standards for vinyl chloride, but included no standards for other hazardous air pollutants. PVC plants emit large quantities of vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen, as well as dioxins, toxic metals such as chromium and lead, and hydrogen chloride.

 

Two activist groups - Mossville Environmental Action Network (MEAN) and Sierra Club - challenged the EPA rule, charging the agency did not meet 1990 Clean Air Act requirements for setting emission limits.

 

The groups argued that in addition to regulating vinyl chloride, EPA was also obligated to address the threat to public health posed by the other hazardous air pollutants emitted by PVC plants.

 

Last June, the court agreed and struck EPA’s rule after finding that the agency had failed to set emission standards for all the air toxics that PVC plants emit.

 

In October, EPA asked the court to send the PVC rule back to the agency for further analysis and explanation, rather than rejecting it altogether. But the court rejected EPA’s request, and affirmed its decision to vacate the rule in its entirety.

 

"The court found that EPA's ‘just do nothing’ response to deadly emissions from PVC-plastics plants was just dead wrong,” said Marti Sinclair, air quality committee chair for Sierra Club. “EPA has the opportunity to redeem itself by acting quickly to extend the protection of the Clean Air Act to affected communities.”

 

There are 27 PVC plants in the US, located in Louisiana, New Jersey, Texas, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, California, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Florida.

 

PVC is used in a variety of plastic products including pipes, insulation for electric wiring, raincoats and seat covers.

By: Glenn Hess
+1 713 525 2653

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly