A federal appeals court in November, 1986, ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted properly when it refused to set strict limits on emissions of vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical used in making plastics. The court said the Clean Air Act did not support the view of the plaintiff, the Natural Resources Defense Council, that the EPA was required to set strict limits on vinyl chloride emissions and said that EPA Administrator Lee Thomas had properly concluded that the agency had the discretion to weigh cost and available technology in deciding not to impose the regulations.
--Peter Montague, Ph.D.

Descriptor terms: lawsuits; epa; nrdc; limits; vinyl chloride; cancer; chemicals; plastics; regulations; regulation;