American Chemical Council lauds US court MEK ruling

11 May 2005 22:00  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--The American Chemistry Council (ACC) said Wednesday it welcomes an appellate court ruling that emissions of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) will no longer have to be reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

 

ACC’s ketones panel said it “continues to believe, as supported by the court's decision, that substances should not be on the list of substances subject to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting solely because these substances are classified as volatile organic chemicals (VOCs).”

 

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that supported keeping MEK on the TRI list. EPA had earlier denied a petition by ACC to delist MEK on the grounds that the widely used solvent does not meet TRI reporting requirements.

 

The industry group argued that MEK is not a toxic chemical because it “does not cause or cannot be reasonably anticipated to cause chronic health effects because exposure to the chemical itself does not cause adverse effects.”

 

“MEK is a highly efficient and environmentally sound choice for use in a variety of applications,” according to the ketones panel. MEK is a liquid used as a solvent in surface coatings and adhesives, as a chemical intermediate, and for a variety of applications to other industries, including printing and cleaning fluids. MEK is also a natural component of many foods.

By: Brian Ford
+1 713 525 2653

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