Earthjustice Sues EPA Over Fast-Tracked Approval of Toxic Photoacid Generator 'Forever Chemicals'

The Environmental Protection Agency (搜索)搜索该公司 (EPA) has approved two new chemicals for import and immediate use in semiconductor manufacturing facilities across the United States, despite the agency's own acknowledgment that the compounds present an "unreasonable risk" to workers and the public. The nonprofit organization Earthjustice (搜索)搜索该词条 has filed a lawsuit against the agency, arguing that the approvals violate the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and fail to protect public health.

The two compounds are photoacid generators (搜索)搜索该药品 used in the production of semiconductors, and they also appear to be PFAS (搜索)搜索该药品, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as "forever chemicals" because they do not naturally break down and instead accumulate in the human body and environment. Exposure to the chemicals could allegedly lead to "sudden death," as well as a range of serious health risks including cancer, eye corrosion, neurological damage, and reproductive harm.

EPA Acknowledged Risks but Approved Chemicals Anyway

According to consent orders reviewed by The Guardian, the EPA explicitly conceded that the chemicals present an "unreasonable risk" to workers and the public, yet still approved them for use. Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, an attorney with Earthjustice (搜索)搜索该词条, said the EPA "does not know the level at which the chemicals are 'acutely lethal' or cause other serious health damage."

The consent orders include explicit admissions that the EPA does not understand the level at which people could be harmed. For one chemical, the agency stated it "identified acute toxicity, genetic toxicity, and systemic, reproductive, and developmental effects as potential risks to the general population if exposed via drinking water, ingestion of groundwater impacted by landfill leachate, and/or inhalation from stack air releases." However, the EPA continued that "the risks for these endpoints were not quantified due to insufficient information on hazard."

For workers, the EPA identified "acute toxicity, genetic toxicity, skin and respiratory irritation, eye corrosion, skin photosensitization, and systemic, reproductive, and developmental toxicity effects as potential risks." The agency also noted that exposure could cause "acute lethality," or sudden death, but that it had "insufficient data" to assess that risk as well.

Alleged Violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act

Kalmuss-Katz argued that approving chemicals with an acknowledged "unreasonable risk" violates federal law. "If a chemical may present an 'unreasonable risk,' then the Toxic Substances Control Act requires the EPA to 'prohibit or limit the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of such substance or to prohibit or limit any combination of such activities to the extent necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk,'" he told The Guardian.

"This is turning the new chemical review process on its head," Kalmuss-Katz said. "You have a situation where the EPA has failed at its most fundamental obligation when it comes to new chemicals, and that is to protect the public from unreasonable risk."

The restrictions the EPA placed on the chemicals are minimal and non-protective, according to Kalmuss-Katz. Among the EPA's restrictions are limiting the size of the container in which a chemical can be imported, but not the volume. Kalmuss-Katz said that does little to protect anyone.

PFAS and Environmental Concerns

PFAS (搜索)搜索该药品 are a class of at least 16,000 compounds dubbed "forever chemicals" because they do not naturally break down and accumulate in the human body and environment. Testing data from 2022 from one U.S. production plant, or "fab," previously reviewed by The Guardian showed as much as 78,000 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFAS in wastewater from some samples. The EPA legal limit for several common compounds in drinking water is 4 ppt.

The semiconductor industry has long been known for its use of PFAS (搜索)搜索该药品. Ultraviolet light is filtered through photoacid generators (搜索)搜索该药品 to imprint circuit patterns onto the semiconductor wafer. Most of the chemicals used in that process do not remain on the chip, but are instead discharged in wastewater or otherwise disposed of.

Lenny Siegel, executive director of the Center of Public Environmental Oversight, said there are likely no requirements for a semiconductor plant in the U.S. to limit discharges of these chemicals. "The EPA should not approve any new photoacid generators (搜索)搜索该药品, even on a temporary basis, until there is enforceable assurance that there will be zero discharge of such chemicals," Siegel said.

Broader Pattern Around Data Centers

Kalmuss-Katz said the chemicals' approval is part of a broader pattern around data centers. "Unfortunately what we've seen time and time again in this administration especially is the EPA putting the pursuit of AI and increased computing capacity over its obligation to protect public health and the environment," he said.

Redactions in the consent orders make it unclear whether the compounds were fast-tracked under a controversial late 2025 Trump executive order to speed up the approval of data center chemicals. The name of the company that produces the chemicals is also redacted.

Industry has argued that it cannot make semiconductors without the chemicals. Industry documents provided to The Guardian in 2024 stated that finding safer alternatives is "impossible in some instances" and would require "stepping back decades in technological advancement."

Kalmuss-Katz emphasized that environmental groups were not calling for the elimination of domestic chip production, but "we need to do it in a way that isn't exposing workers and communities to these unstudied risks."