BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

PETITION FOR RULEMAKING PURSUANT TO SECTION 7004(A) OF THE RESOURCE 

CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT, 42 U.S.C. § 6974(A), AND SECTION 21 OF 

THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT, 15 U.S.C. § 2620, CONCERNING 

THE REGULATION OF DISCARDED POLYVINYL CHLORIDE AND 

ASSOCIATED CHEMICAL ADDITIVES

Credit: NOAA ONMS

CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

PETITIONER

JULY 24, 2014
i

NOTICE OF PETITION

Gina McCarthy

Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20460 

Email: McCarthy.Gina@epa.gov

PETITIONER

Center for Biological Diversity

351 California Street, Suite 600

San Francisco, CA 94104

Tel: (415) 436-9682

The Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”) is a non-profit, public interest 

environmental organization dedicated to the protection of native species and their habitats 

through science, policy and environmental law. The Center has over 775,000 members and 

online activists throughout the United States and around the world. The Center’s Ocean Program 

and its supporters are specifically concerned with the conservation of marine species, the 

preservation of ocean ecosystems and the effective implementation of U.S. environmental laws, 

including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. 

The Center submits this petition on its own behalf and on behalf of its members and staff with an 

interest in protecting the marine environment.

ACTION REQUESTED

Pursuant to section 7004(a) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), 

42 U.S.C. § 6974(a); RCRA’s implementing regulations, 40 C.F.R. § 260.20; section 21 of the 

Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), 15 U.S.C. § 2620; and section 553(e) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 553(e), the Center for Biological Diversity 

hereby petitions the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to 

promulgate regulations governing the safe treatment, storage and disposal of polyvinyl chloride

(“PVC”), vinyl chloride and associated dialkyl- and alkylarylesters of 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic 

acid, commonly known as phthalate plasticizers.

The U.S. Constitution and various federal statutes, including both RCRA and TSCA, 

explicitly guarantee a citizen’s right of petition. See U.S. Const. amend. I (“Congress shall make 

no law ... abridging the right of people ... to petition the Government for redress of 

grievances.”); see also United Mine Workers v. Ill. State Bar Ass’n, 389 U.S. 217, 222 (1967) 

(“[T]he right[] ... to petition for a redress of grievances [is] among the most precious of the 

liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights.”). Specifically, the APA mandates that “[e]ach 

agency shall give an interested person the right to petition for the issuance ... of a rule.” 5 

U.S.C. § 553(e). RCRA directs EPA to “provide[] for, encourage[], and assist[]” public 

participation in the development of regulations, and expressly authorizes “any person” to seek
ii

promulgation of a new environmental rule. 42 U.S.C. § 6974. Similarly, TSCA empowers

“[a]ny person [to] petition [EPA] to initiate a proceeding for the issuance” of more protective

regulations. 15 U.S.C. § 2620. 

This petition imposes definite response requirements on EPA. Specifically, RCRA 

stipulates that the agency “shall take action” with respect to this petition within a “reasonable 

time” following its receipt and “shall publish notice of such action in the Federal Register, 

together with the reasons therefor.” Id. § 6974(a) (emphasis added). Under TSCA, EPA must 

either grant or deny our petition for additional rulemaking within ninety days of filing, “promptly 

commenc[ing] an appropriate proceeding if such action is warranted.” 15 U.S.C. § 2620(b)(3). 

Conversely, should the agency decline to regulate vinyl chloride and phthalate plasticizers under 

TSCA, EPA must publish the reasons for its decision in the Federal Register. Id.; see also 5 

U.S.C. § 555(e) (“Prompt notice shall be given of the denial in whole or in part of a written 

application, petition, or other request of an interested person made in connection with any agency 

proceeding.”). 

The APA provides for judicial review of government decisionmaking and permits courts 

to compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. 5 U.S.C. §§ 704, 706. 

Similarly, RCRA and TSCA authorize citizens to file suit against EPA to compel the completion 

of any nondiscretionary duty, 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(2), and to challenge an adverse or untimely 

determination, respectively. 15 U.S.C. § 2620(b)(4). 

As described in this petition, discarded PVC satisfies both the criteria for hazardous 

waste designation, as defined at 42 U.S.C. § 6903(5) and 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.3 & 261.11(3), and 

the standard for regulation under TSCA, set forth at 15 U.S.C. §§ 2603 & 2605. PVC contains

toxic constituents. Moreover, recent scientific research clearly demonstrates that the improper 

management of this waste poses a substantial threat and an unreasonable risk to human health 

and the environment, including endangered marine species. If EPA determines that neither 

hazardous waste designation nor TSCA regulation is warranted, we alternatively request that the 

agency revise its solid waste management guidelines, see 42 U.S.C. § 6907, to recommend 

management and operating practices sufficient to minimize the threats associated with

improperly discarded PVC. 

Dated this 24th day of July, 2014.

___________________________________________________

Alexis Andiman, Oceans Fellow

Emily Jeffers, Attorney, Oceans Program

Miyoko Sakashita, Senior Attorney & Oceans Director

Center for Biological Diversity 

351 California St., Ste. 600

(415) 436-9682

AAndiman@biologicaldiversity.org

EJeffers@biologicaldiversity.org

Miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org
iii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Am. Mining Congress v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 907 F.2d 1179 (D.C. Cir. 1990) ....................4

Dithiocarbamate Task Force v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 98 F.3d 1394 (D.C. Cir. 1996).......4, 21

Hazardous Waste Treatment Council v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 861 F.2d 270 

(D.C. Cir. 1988) .........................................................................................................................4

Statutes

15 U.S.C. § 2057c..........................................................................................................................24

15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq..................................................................................................................1

15 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(1) ..................................................................................................................26

15 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(2) ..................................................................................................................26

15 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(3) ..................................................................................................................26

15 U.S.C. § 2602(2).......................................................................................................................26

15 U.S.C. § 2603............................................................................................................................27

15 U.S.C. § 2605(a) .......................................................................................................................26

15 U.S.C. § 2605(a)(1)(B) .............................................................................................................26

15 U.S.C. § 2605(c) .......................................................................................................................26

16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq................................................................................................................17

42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq..................................................................................................................1

42 U.S.C. § 6901(a) .........................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6901(b).........................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6902..............................................................................................................................5

42 U.S.C. § 6902(a)(5).....................................................................................................................6

42 U.S.C. § 6903(5).....................................................................................................................3, 6

42 U.S.C. § 6903(27)...................................................................................................................3, 6

42 U.S.C. § 6907..........................................................................................................................1, 5

42 U.S.C. § 6912(b).........................................................................................................................5

42 U.S.C. § 6921-6939g ..................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6921(a)(1).....................................................................................................................5

42 U.S.C. § 6922..............................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6922-6924 ....................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6923..............................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6924..............................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6925..............................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6926..............................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. §§ 6941-6969a.................................................................................................................3

42 U.S.C. § 6961..............................................................................................................................5

42 U.S.C. § 6972..............................................................................................................................5

42 U.S.C. § 6974(a) .........................................................................................................................5

42 U.S.C. § 6974(b)(1) ....................................................................................................................5
iv

Regulations

40 C.F.R. pt. 132............................................................................................................................24

40 C.F.R. § 240................................................................................................................................5

40 C.F.R. § 243................................................................................................................................5

40 C.F.R. § 246-47...........................................................................................................................5

40 C.F.R. § 257-58...........................................................................................................................5

40 C.F.R. pt. 261..............................................................................................................................3

40 C.F.R. pt. 261, app. VIII .....................................................................................................4, 7, 8

40 C.F.R. § 261.4(b)(1)....................................................................................................................3

40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3)........................................................................................................ passim

50 C.F.R. § 17.11.....................................................................................................................17, 24

CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 27, § 25805..................................................................................................24

CAL. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE §108935-39 ..................................................................................24

VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 18, § 1511.......................................................................................................24

WASH. REV. CODE § 70.240.020(1)(c)...........................................................................................24

Federal Register

Guidance for Petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency Under Section 21 of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act, 50 Fed. Reg. 46,825 (Nov. 13, 1985)...............................................27

Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, 45 Fed. Reg. 33,084 

(May 19, 1980)........................................................................................................ 4, 14, 20, 21

Recordkeeping of Refuse Discharges from Ships, 59 Fed. Reg. 18,700 (Apr. 19, 1994).............23

Lead Fishing Sinkers; Response to Citizens’ Petition and Proposed Ban, 59 Fed. Reg. 11,122

(Mar. 9, 1994) ..........................................................................................................................26

Other Materials

M. Abdel daiem et al., Environmental Impact of Phthalic Acid Esters and their Removal form 

Water and Sediments by Different Technologies – A Review, 109 J. OF ENVTL. MGMT. 164 

(2012) ..........................................................................................................................15, 16, 20

Safa Abdul-Ghani et al., The Teratogenicity and Behavioral Teratogenicity of Di(2-Ethylhexyl) 

Phthalate (DEHP) and Di-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) in a Chick Model, 34 NEUROTOXICOLOGY 

AND TERATOLOGY 56 (2012) ...................................................................................................10

Jennifer J Adibi et al., Prenatal Exposures to Phthalates Among Women in New York City and 

Krakow, Poland, 111 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 1719 (2003).................................................2, 25

Michael W. Allsop et al., Poly(Vinyl Chloride), in 28 ULLMANN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDUS.

CHEMISTRY 441 (Electronic ed. 2012) ...................................................................................7, 8
v

Am. Chemistry Council, U.S. Resins Industry Strengthens in 2013, http://www.

americanchemistry.com/Jobs/EconomicStatistics/Plastics-Statistics/Year-in-Review.pdf 

(last visited May 13, 2014) ................................................................................................ 21-22

Am. Chemistry Council, U.S. Resin Production & Sales 2013 vs. 2012 (Mar. 2014), http://www.

americanchemistry.com/Jobs/EconomicStatistics/Plastics-Statistics/Production-and-Sales-Databy-Resin.pdf.............................................................................................................................21

Am. Med. Ass’n, DEHP Use in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (2001), Health Care Without 

Harm, http://noharm.org/lib/downloads/pvc/PVC_Stmt_AMA_12-01.pdf ........................... 14

Heidi J. Auman et al., Plastic Ingestion by Laysan Albatross Chicks on Sand Island, Midway 

Atoll, in 1994 and 1995, in ALBATROSS BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 239 (G. Robinson et 

al. eds., 1997)...........................................................................................................................18

Radwa A. Barakat et al., Early Investigation of Hepatocarcinogenic Effect of Polyvinyl Chloride 

in Rat, 12 GLOBAL VETERINARIA 67 (2014)............................................................................18

S. Barnabé et al., Plasticizers and Their Degradation Products in the Process Streams of a Large 

Urban Physicochemical Sewage Treatment Plant, 42 WATER RES. 153 (2008).....................17

David K. A. Barnes, et al., Accumulation and Fragmentation of Plastic Debris in Global 

Environments, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 1985 (2009)........1, 19, 21, 23

Michael J. Bean, Legal Strategies for Reducing Persistent Plastics in the Marine Environment, 

18 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 357, 357 (1987) .......................................................................24

Michael Belliveau et al., PVC – Bad News Comes in Threes: The Poison Plastic, Health Hazards 

and the Looming Waste Crisis 10 (Dec. 2004), http://chej.org/wp-content/uploads/

Documents/PVC/bad_news_comes_in_threes.pdf..................................................................22

Priyanka Bhattacharya et al., Physical Adsorption of Charged Plastic Nanoparticles Affects 

Algal Photosynthesis, 114 J. OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C 16,556 (2010) ................................17

S.M. Bidoki et al., Environmental and Economic Acceptance of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) 

Coating Agents, 18 J. OF CLEANER PRODUCTION 219 (2010)..............................................2, 14

Paul Wesley Brandt-Rauf et al., Plastics and Carcinogenesis: The Example of Vinyl Chloride 2, 

J. CARCINOGENESIS (2012), http://www.carcinogenesis.com/text.asp?2012/11/1/5/

93700 ............................................................................................................................8, 13, 28

Mark A. Browne et al., Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the Circulatory System of 

the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.), 42 ENVTL. SCI. AND TECH. 5026 (2008)................................18

Mark Anthony Browne et al., Microplastic Moves Pollutants and Additives to Worms, Reducing 

Functions Linked to Health and Biodiversity, 23 CURRENT BIOLOGY 2388 (2013)................18
vi

Mark A. Browne et al., Spatial Patterns of Plastic Debris along Estuarine Shores, 44 ENVTL.

SCI. AND TECH. 3404 (2010) ......................................................................................................1

David F. Cadogan et al., Plasticizers, in 27 ULLMANN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDUS. CHEMISTRY 

599 (Electronic ed. 2012) ......................................................................................................7, 8

Oliana Carnevali et al., DEHP Impairs Zebrafish Reproduction by Affecting Critical Factors in 

Oogenesis, 5 PLOS ONE e10201 (2010)............................................................................10, 11

Henry S. Carson, The Incidence of Plastic Ingestion by Fishes: From the Prey’s Perspective, 74 

MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 170 (2013) ....................................................................................17

Subjankar Chatterjee et al., Removal of the Endocrine Disrupter Butyl Benzyl Phthalate from the 

Environment, 87 APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECH. 61 (2010).............................. passim

Zhang Cheng et al., Risk Assessments of Human Exposure to Bioaccessible Phthalate Esters 

through Market Fish Consumption, 57-58 ENV’T INT’L 75 (2013) ...................................15, 20

Justin A. Colacino et al., Dietary Intake is Associated with Phthalate Body Burden in Nationally 

Representative Sample, 118 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 998 (2010) ............................................20

Matthew Cole et al., Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton, 47 ENVTL. SCI. & TECH. 6646

(2013) ................................................................................................................................17, 18

Ivelisse Colόn, Identification of Phthalate Esters in the Serum of Young Puerto Rican Girls with 

Premature Breast Development, 108 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 895 (2000)..............................12

Bruna Corradetti et al., Bis-(2-Ethylexhyl) Phthalate Impairs Spermatogenesis in Zebrafish 

(Danio rerio), 13 REPROD. BIOLOGY 195 (2013)......................................................................11

Andrés Cόzar et al., Plastic Debris in the Open Ocean, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NAT’L ACADEMY 

OF SCI. 1 (2014)..........................................................................................................................1

Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, Dep’t of Health and Human Servs., Fourth National 

Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (2009) ..........................................13

Martine Culty et al., In Utero Exposure to Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Exerts Both Short-Term 

and Long-Lasting Suppressive Effects on Testosterone Production in the Rat, 78 BIOLOGY OF 

REPROD. 1018 (2008)......................................................................................................... 12-13

Peter Davison et al., Plastic Ingestion by Mesopelagic Fishes in the North Pacific Subtropical 

Gyre, 432 MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 173 (2011)....................................................19

M.H. Depledge et al., Plastic Litter in the Sea, 92 MARINE ENVTL. RES. 279 (2013)...............2, 15
vii

Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/

0014.htm ..................................................................................................................................14

José G. Dόrea, Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Substances in Fish: Human Health 

Considerations, 400 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 93 (2008).......................................................20

Susan M. Duty et al., Phthalate Exposure and Human Semen Parameters, 14 EPIDEMIOLOGY 269

(2003) ......................................................................................................................................13

Paul Farrell et al., Trophic Level Transfer of Microplastic: Mytilus edulis (L.) to Carcinus 

maenas (L.), 17 ENVTL. POLLUTION 1 (2013)...........................................................................18

T. Fierens et al., Phthalates in Belgian Cow’s Milk and the Role of Feed and Other 

Contamination Pathways at Farm Level, 50 FOOD AND CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGY 2,945 

(2012) ......................................................................................................................................20

Jane Fisher, Environmental Anti-Androgens and Male Reproductive Health: Focus on Phthalates 

and Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome, 127 REPROD. 302 (2004).......................................11, 22

Maria Cristina Fossi et al., Are Baleen Whales Exposed to the Threat of Microplastics? A Case 

Study of the Mediterranean Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), 64 MARINE POLLUTION 

BULL. 2374 (2012) ................................................................................................... 7, 10, 15, 19

Hanne Frederiksen et al., Metabolism of Phthalates in Humans, 51 MOLECULAR NUTRITION &

FOOD RES. 899 (2007)...................................................................................................... passim

F. Galgani et al., Marine Litter within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, 70 

ICES J. OF MARINE SCI. 1055 (2013)...................................................................................1, 19

Michael O. Gaylor et al., House Crickets Can Accumulate Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers 

(PBDEs) Directly from Polyurethane Foam Common in Consumer Products, 86

CHEMOSPHERE 500 (2012) ................................................................................................. 18-19

Nivedita Ghorpade et al., Toxicity Study of Diethyl Phthalate on Freshwater Fish Cirrhina 

mrigala, 53 ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVTL. SAFETY 255 (2002) ..............................................10

Erin R. Graham et al., Deposit- and Suspension-Feeding Sea Cucumbers (Echinodermata) Ingest 

Plastic Fragments, 368 J. OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 

22 (2009)..................................................................................................................................18

Heather J. Hamlin, Embryos as Targets of Endocrine Disrupting Contaminants in Wildlife, 93 

BIRTH DEFECTS RES. PART C: EMBRYO TODAY: REVIEWS 19 (2011)..........................25, 27, 28

Bethany R. Hannas et al., In Utero Phthalate Effects in the Female Rat: A Mode for MRKH 

Syndrome, 223 TOXICOLOGY LETTERS 315 (2013) .................................................................23
viii

Grant A. Harse, Plastic, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and International Misfires at a Cure, 

29 UCLA J. ENVTL. L. & POL’Y 331 (2011) ............................................................................23

Daud Hassan, International Conventions Relating to Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution 

Control: Applications and Shortcomings, 16 GEO. INT’L ENVTL. L. REV. 657 (2004)............23

Russ Hauser et al., Altered Semen Quality in Relation to Urinary Concentrations of Phthalate 

Monoester and Oxidative Metabolites, 17 EPIDEMIOLOGY 682 (2006)...................................13

John R. Henderson, A Pre- and Post-MARPOL Annex V Summary of Hawaiian Monk Sea 

Entanglements and Marine Debris Accumulation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 

1982-1998, 42 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 584 (2001)...................................................... 23-24

Ursel Heudorf et al., Phthalates: Toxicology and Exposure, 210 INT’L J. HYGIENE AND HEALTH 

623 (2007)............................................................................................................................8, 15

R. Hokanson et al., DEHP, Bis(2)-Ethylhexyl Phthalate, Alters Gene Expressive in Human Cells: 

Possible Correlation with Initiation of Fetal Developmental Abnormalities, 25 HUMAN &

EXPERIMENTAL TOXICOLOGY 687 (2006) ................................................................................12

Owen Horn et al., Plasticizer Metabolites in the Environment, 38 WATER RES. 3693

(2004) ................................................................................................................................17, 27

Kembra L. Howdeshell et al., Mechanisms of Action of Phthalate Esters, Individually and in 

Combination, to Induce Abnormal Reproductive Development in Male Laboratory Rats, 108 

ENVTL. RES. 168 (2008)...............................................................................................11, 23, 25

Juliana A. Ivar do Sul et al., Pelagic Microplastics Around an Archipelago of the Equatorial 

Atlantic, 75 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 305 (2013).................................................................17

Jeff K. Jacobsen et al., Fatal Ingestion of Floating Net Debris by Two Sperm Whales (Physeter 

macrocephalus), 60 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 765 (2010) ....................................................17

Douglas C. Jones, The Effects of Environmental Neurotoxicants on the Dopaminergic System: A 

Possible Role in Drug Addiction, 76 BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY 569 (2008)..................12

Susan Jobling et al., A Variety of Environmentally Persistent Chemicals, Including Some 

Phthalate Plasticizers, Are Weakly Estrogenic, 103 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP.

582 (1995)....................................................................................................................16, 25, 27

Ju-Chan Kang et al., Anti-Oxidative Status and Hepatic Enzymes Following Acute 

Administration of Diethyl Phthalate in Olive Flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, a Marine 

Culture Fish, 73 ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVTL. SAFETY 1449 (2010).................................9, 21

Lisa A.E. Kaplan et al., Impact of Benzyl Butyl Phthalate on Shoaling Behavior in Fundulus 

heteroclitus (Mummichog) Populations, 86 MARINE ENVTL. RES. 70 (2013)...................10, 15
ix

Joshua Kastner et al., Aqueous Leaching of Di-2-Ethylhexyl Phthalate and “Green” Plasticizers 

from Poly(Vinyl Chloride), 432 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 357 (2012).....................................8, 28

Janet Kielhorn et al., Vinyl Chloride: Still a Cause for Concern, 108 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 579 

(2000) ......................................................................................................................2, 22, 25, 28

Bung-Nyun Kim et al., Phthalates Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in 

School-Age Children, 66 BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY 958 (2009) .............................................12

Walter Klöpffer, Environmental Hazard Assessment of Chemicals and Products. Part V. 

Anthropogenic Chemicals in Sewage Sludge, 33 CHEMOSPHERE 1067 (1996)........................16

Holger M. Koch et al., Human Body Burdens of Chemicals Used in Plastic Manufacture, 364 

PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 2063 (2009) .........................................................7

Barbara Kolarik et al., The Association Between Phthalates in Dust and Allergic Diseases 

Among Bulgarian Children, 116 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 98 (2008).......................................12

M.R. Lasheen et al., Factors Influencing Lead and Iron Release from Some Egyptian Drinking 

Water Pipes, 160 J. OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 675 (2008) ..................................................15

Giuseppe Latini et al., Phthalate Exposure and Male Infertility, 226 TOXICOLOGY 90 

(2006) .............................................................................................................................. passim

Giuseppe Latini et al., Plasticizers, Infant Nutrition and Reproductive Health, 19 REPROD.

TOXICOLOGY 27 (2004)............................................................................................................19

Margaret H. Lemos, State Enforcement of Federal Law, 86 N.Y.U.L. REV. 698 (2011) .............25

Sally Ann Lentz, Plastics in the Marine Environment: Legal Approaches for International 

Action, 18 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 361 (1987)...................................................................23

List of Contaminants and their (MCLs), U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://water.epa.gov/drink/

contaminants/#List (last visited May 18, 2014)...................................................................7, 14

Delilah Lithner et al., Leachates from Plastic Consumer Products – Screening for Toxicity with 

Daphnia magna, 74 CHEMOSPHERE 1195 (2009) ..................................................... 8, 13, 14, 25

S. Magdouli, Di 2-Ethylhexylphtalate in the Aquatic and Terrestrial Environment: A Critical 

Review, 127 J. OF ENVTL. MGMT. 36 (2013)................................................................14, 16, 17

Katharina M. Main et al., Human Breast Milk Contamination with Phthalates and Alterations of 

Endogenous Reproductive Hormones in Infants Three Months of Age, 114 ENVTL. HEALTH 

PERSP. 270 (2006)....................................................................................................................12
x

Rishikesh Mankidy et al., Biological Impact of Phthalates, 217 TOXICOLOGY LETTERS 50 

(2013) ..........................................................................................................................16, 25, 27

D.B. Martinez-Arguelles et al., Fetal Origin of Endocrine Dysfunction in the Adult: The 

Phthalate Model, 137 J. OF STEROID BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 5 (2013)..11, 13

D.B. Martinez-Arguelles et al., Maternal In Utero Exposure to the Endocrine Disruptor Di-(2-

Ehtylhexyl) Phthalate Affects the Blood Pressure of Adult Male Offspring, 266 TOXICOLOGY 

AND APPLIED PHARMACOLOGY 95 (2013)..........................................................................10, 11

B. Migliarini et al., Review, Perspectives on Endocrine Disruptor Effects on Metabolic Sensors, 

170 GEN. AND COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY 416 (2011)....................................................16

Ce-Hui Mo et al., Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Phthalic Acid Esters in Vegetables 

from Nine Farms of the Pearl River Delta, South China, 56 ARCHIVES OF ENVTL.

CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY 181 (2009)......................................................................20

Karl Mulder et al., PVC Plastic: A History of Systems Development and Entrenchment, 23 TECH.

IN SOC. 265 (2001)...........................................................................................................1, 9, 22

Fiona Murray et al., Plastic Contamination in the Decapod Crustacean Nephrops norvegicus 

(Linnaeus, 1758), 62 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 1207 (2011)................................................18

Sandro Nalli et al., Metabolites from the Degradation of Di-Ester Plasticizers by Rhodococcus 

rhodochrous, 366 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 286 (2006) .........................................................17

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, INTERAGENCY REPORT ON MARINE DEBRIS 

SOURCES, IMPACTS, STRATEGIES & RECOMMENDATIONS (2008).............................................21

Jörg Oehlmann et al., A Critical Analysis of the Biological Impacts of Plasticizers on Wildlife, 

364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 2047 (2009) ................................................10

Office of Inspector General, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, EPA Inaction in Identifying Hazardous 

Waste Pharmaceuticals May Result in Unsafe Disposal (2012) ...............................................5

Office of Inspector General, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening 

Program Should Establish Management Controls to Ensure More Timely Results (2011).. 5-6

Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, RCRA in Focus: 

Construction, Demolition, and Renovation (2004)..................................................................14

The Original List of Hazardous Air Pollutants, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://www.epa.gov/

ttn/atw/188polls.html (last visited July 23, 2014)......................................................................7

Phthalates Factsheet, CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (July 16, 2013), 

http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/phthalates_factsheet.html................................................12
xi

PVC Policies Across the World, CTR. FOR HEALTH, ENV’T & JUSTICE, http://www.chej.org/

pvcfactsheets/PVC_Policies_Around_The_World.html (last visited Apr. 7, 2014) ...............24

Mustafizur Rahman et al., The Plasticizer Market: An Assessment of Traditional Plasticizers and 

Research Trends to Meet New Challenges, 29 PROGRESS IN POLYMER SCI. 1223 (2004) ..8, 13

Rachael Rawlins, Teething on Toxins: In Search of Regulatory Solutions for Toys and Cosmetics, 

20 FORDHAM ENVTL. LAW REV. 1 (2009)................................................................................24

Chelsea M. Rochman et al., Classify Plastic Waste as Hazardous, 494 NATURE 169 (2013).....1, 2

Chelsea M. Rochman et al., Ingested Plastic Transfers Hazardous Chemicals to Fish and 

Induces Hepatic Stress, 3 SCI. REP. 3263 (2013).....................................................................18

Chelsea M. Rochman et al., Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Fish Tissue May Be an 

Indicator of Plastic Contamination in Marine Habitats, 476-77 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 622 

(2014) ......................................................................................................................................19

Roya Rozati et al., Role of Environmental Estrogens in the Deterioration of Male Factor 

Fertility, 78 FERTILITY AND STERILITY 1187 (2002)................................................................20

Ivan Rusyn, Mechanistic Considerations for Human Relevance of Cancer Hazard of Di(2-

Ethylhexyl) Phthalate, 750 MUTATION RES. 141 (2012)..........................................................13

Mehdi Sadat-Shojai et al., Recycling of PVC Wastes, 96 POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY

404 (2011)..................................................................................................................................2

Herman O. Sanders et al., Toxicity, Residue Dynamics, and Reproductive Effects of Phthalate 

Esters in Aquatic Invertebrates, 6 ENVTL. RES. 84 (1973)............................................9, 10, 11

San Francisco Dept. of the Env’t, Detailed Results of Phthalate Testing in Children’s Toys

(2008), http://www.sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/sfe_th_phthalate_

testing_in_toys_detailed_results.pdf........................................................................................13

Jennifer Beth Sass et al., Vinyl Chloride: A Case Study of Data Suppression and 

Misrepresentation, 113 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 809 (2005)...........................................2, 9, 13

Yvonne R. Shashoua, Effect of Indoor Climate on the rate and Degradation Mechanism of 

Plasticized Poly (Vinyl Chloride), 81 POLYMER DEGRADATION AND SUSTAINABILITY 29 

(2003) ......................................................................................................................................15

Outi Setälä et al., Ingestion and Transfer of Microplastics in the Planktonic Food Web, 185

ENVTL. POLLUTION 77 (2014)..................................................................................................17
xii

Richard W. Stahlhut et al., Concentrations of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites Are Associated with 

Increased Waist Circumference and Insulin Resistant in Adult U.S. Males, 115 ENVTL.

HEALTH PERSP. 876 (2007)......................................................................................... 12, 13, 21

Bonnie Ransom Stern et al., Are There Health Risks from the Migration of Chemical Substances 

from Plastic Pipes into Drinking Water? A Review, 14 HUMAN AND ECOLOGICAL RISK 

ASSESSMENT 753 (2008).................................................................................................. passim

Y. Suzuki et al., Foetal Exposure to Phthalate Esters and Anogenital Distance in Male 

Newborns, 34 INT’L J. OF ANDROLOGY 236 (2012) .................................................................12

Katherine Svensson et al., Phthalate Exposure Associated with Self-Reported Diabetes Among 

Mexican Women, 111 ENVTL. RES. 792 (2011) .......................................................................13

Shanna H. Swan et al., Decrease in Anogenital Distance among Male Infants with Prenatal 

Phthalate Exposure, 113 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 1056 (2005) ....................................... passim

S.H. Swan et al., Prenatal Phthalate Exposure and Reduced Masculine Play in Boys, 33 INT’L J.

OF ANDROLOGY 259 (2010)..........................................................................................11, 12, 21

Shanna H. Swan et al., The Question of Declining Sperm Density Revisited: An Analysis of 101 

Studies Published 1934-1996, 108 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 961 (2000)..................................22

Chris E. Talsness et al., Components of Plastic: Experimental Studies in Animals and Relevance 

for Human Health, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 2079 (2009)............... 7-8

Kosuke Tanaka et al., Accumulation of Plastic-Derived Chemicals in Tissues of Seabirds 

Ingesting Marine Plastics, 69 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 219 (2013)....................................19

Takashi Tanida et al., Fetal and Neonatal Exposure to Three Typical Environmental Chemicals 

with Different Mechanisms of Action: Mixed Exposure to Phenol, Phthalate, and Dioxin 

Cancels the Effects of Sole Exposure on Mouse Midbrain Dopaminergic Nuclei, 189

TOXICOLOGY LETTERS 40 (2009).......................................................................................11, 12

Susan L. Teitelbaum et al., Associations Between Phthalate Metabolite Urinary Concentrations 

and Body Size Measures in New York City Children, 112 ENVTL. RES. 186 (2012) .........12, 21

Emma L. Teuten et al., Transport and Release of Chemicals from Plastics to the Environment 

and Wildlife, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 2027 (2009)...........................15

Leonardo Trasande et al., Phthalates and the Diets of US Children and Adolescents, 126 ENVTL.

RES. 84 (2013) ................................................................................................................... 19-20

U.S. General Accounting Office, Hazardous Waste: New Approach Needed to Manage the

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1988) .....................................................................5
xiii

U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, Phthalates Action Plan (2012), http://www.epa.gov/oppt/

existingchemicals/pubs/actionplans/phthalates.html .................................................................8

U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, Plastics (Feb. 2012), http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/tools/

warm/pdfs/Plastics.pdf) ...........................................................................................................22

A. Dick Vethaak et al., An Integrated Assessment of Estrogenic Contamination and Biological 

Effects in the Aquatic Environment of The Netherlands, 59 CHEMOSPHERE 511 (2009).........19

Vinyl Chloride, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/vinylchl.html (last 

visited July 23, 2014).............................................................................................................2, 7

Ryan K. Walter et al., Investigation of Factors Affecting the Accumulation of Vinyl Chloride in 

Polyvinyl Chloride Piping Used in Drinking Water Distribution Systems, 45 WATER RES.

2607 (2011)........................................................................................................................14, 15

T.J. Wams, Diethylhexylphthalate as an Environmental Contaminant: A Review, 66 SCI. OF THE 

TOTAL ENV’T 1 (1987).................................................................................................13, 17, 21

Wen-Xiong Wang et al., Dioxin and Phthalate Uptake and Assimilation by the Green Mussel

Perna viridis, 178 ENVTL. POLLUTION 455 (2013) ...................................................................17

Matthias Wormuth et al., What are the Sources of Exposure to Eight Frequently Used Phthalic 

Acid Esters in Europeans?, 26 RISK ANALYSIS 803 (2006) ..............................................20, 25

Stephanie L. Wright et al., The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A 

Review, 178 ENVTL. POLLUTION 483 (2013)............................................................................18

Ting Ye et al., Exposure to DEHP and MEHP from Hatching to Adulthood Causes Reproductive 

Dysfunction and Endocrine Disruption in Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma), 146 

AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY 115 (2014)................................................................................9, 10, 11

L. Zhang et al., Investigation of Organic Compounds Migration from Polymeric Pipes into 

Drinking Water Under Long Retention Times, 70 PROCEDIA ENGINEERING 1753 

(2014) ................................................................................................................................ 14-15
xiv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTICE OF PETITION............................................................................................................... i

PETITIONER ................................................................................................................................ i

ACTION REQUESTED................................................................................................................ i

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ...................................................................................................... iii

INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................1

I. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.....................................................................3

A. Statutory Background .......................................................................................................3

B. Discarded PVC Satisfies the Criteria for Hazardous Waste .........................................6

1. Discarded PVC Contains Toxic Constituents............................................................7

2. Discarded PVC Poses Significant Hazards to Human Health and 

the Environment...........................................................................................................9

a. Nature of the Toxicity Presented by Constituent Chemicals.............................9

b. Concentration of Toxic Constituents in Discarded PVC .................................13

c. Migration Potential..............................................................................................14

d. Persistence ............................................................................................................16

e. Degradation Potential and Rate of Degradation...............................................16

f. Bioaccumulation...................................................................................................17

g. Plausible Improper Management.......................................................................20

h. Quantities of Waste Generated...........................................................................21

i. Nature and Severity of the Human Health and Environmental Damage that 

Has Occurred .......................................................................................................22

j. Action Taken by Other Governmental Agencies or Regulatory Programs 

Based on the Health or Environmental Hazard Posed by Discarded PVC, 

Vinyl Chloride and Phthalate Plasticizers.........................................................23

k. Other Appropriate Factors.................................................................................25

II. The Toxic Substances Control Act.......................................................................................26

A. Statutory Background .....................................................................................................26

B. Vinyl Chloride and Phthalate Plasticizers Pose an Unreasonable Risk of Harm to 

Human Health and the Environment.............................................................................27

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................28
1

INTRODUCTION

The Center for Biological Diversity (“the Center”) requests that the Environmental 

Protection Agency (“EPA”) classify discarded polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) as hazardous waste 

under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”).1

 For the reasons discussed 

below, the agency must, at a minimum, revise its solid waste management guidelines to reduce 

the significant threats to human health and the environment arising from the improper disposal of 

this plastic trash.2

 In addition, the Center asks that EPA initiate rulemaking under the Toxic 

Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) to address the serious risks associated with PVC, vinyl 

chloride and phthalate plasticizers.3, 4

Scientists, scholars and concerned citizens have long warned that inadequate waste 

management strategies are contributing to the widespread degradation of the marine 

environment.

 

5

 In recent years, plastic pollution has attracted increasing attention as an emerging 

problem of global proportions. As much as eighty percent of ocean litter consists of lightweight 

and durable plastic trash, which poses a range of serious threats to aquatic organisms and human 

beings.6 A recent review of the scientific literature revealed that nearly four hundred species 

have ingested or become entangled in marine debris, representing an increase of more than forty 

percent over the previous survey, published only sixteen years before.7 Plastic consumption 

affects nearly half of existing seabird and cetacean species, all marine turtles and many 

ecologically and commercially important fish, shellfish, grasses and corals.8

Improperly discarded PVC constitutes a substantial proportion of ocean litter and poses 

especially significant threats to human and environmental health.9 Even before the production of 

this material began to accelerate in the 1930s, researchers suspected that PVC’s primary building 

block, vinyl chloride, produced toxic effects in laboratory animals.

10

 1 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq. (2012).

 Although EPA has now 

2 See 42 U.S.C. § 6907.

3 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.

4 Our requests under RCRA and TSCA constitute two independent and fully severable petitions. 5 See, e.g., Andrés Cόzar et al., Plastic Debris in the Open Ocean, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NAT’L 

ACADEMY OF SCI. 1, 1, 5 (2014) (reporting that “the intense consumption and rapid disposal of 

plastic products” has contributed to the accumulation of “tens of thousands of tons” of plastic 

debris in surface waters of the open ocean); see also David K. A. Barnes et al., Accumulation 

and Fragmentation of Plastic Debris in Global Environments, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE

ROYAL SOC. B 1985, 1986 (2009) (explaining that “plastic persists in landfill sites and if not 

properly buried may later surface to become ‘debris’”).

6 Barnes et al., supra note 5, at 1986.

7 F. Galgani et al., Marine Litter within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, 70 

ICES J. OF MARINE SC. 1055, 1057 (2013).

8 Id; Chelsea M. Rochman et al., Classify Plastic Waste as Hazardous, 494 NATURE 169, 169

(2013).

9 Mark A. Browne et al., Spatial Patterns of Plastic Debris along Estuarine Shores, 44 ENVTL.

SCI. AND TECH. 3404, 3406 (2010).

10 Karl Mulder et al., PVC Plastic: A History of Systems Development and Entrenchment, 23 

TECH. IN SOC. 265, 275 (2001).
2

acknowledged this substance as a human carcinogen,11 experts continue to argue that the 

agency’s risk assessments are inadequate.12 In addition to vinyl chloride, PVC contains 

significant concentrations of regulated and unregulated chemical additives, including phthalate 

plasticizers and heat stabilizers mixed from lead, calcium, barium and cadmium.13 Recent 

studies reveal that finished PVC products leach significant concentrations of these compounds

into the environment as they deteriorate with age, threatening severe biological consequences.14 

For example, one-quarter of U.S. women already exhibit concentrations of phthalate metabolites 

higher than those correlated with irregular sexual development in male infants,15 and scientific 

evidence indicates that contamination might be even more prevalent in urban settings.16

Despite its status as “one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created,”17 PVC 

and its associated chemical additives are managed in much the same way as food scraps and 

grass clippings after disposal.

18 Americans already discard billions of pounds of this plastic each 

year, and experts anticipate that annual waste generation will increase significantly in the near 

future, as durable products and construction goods reach the end of their useful lives.19 Marine 

plastic pollution harms ocean organisms, threatens ecological integrity and damages human 

health and prosperity.20

 11 See Vinyl Chloride, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/vinylchl.html

(last visited July 23, 2014).

 However, policy-makers have implemented few practical measures to 

address this problem. To protect future generations and preserve the marine environment, we 

urge EPA to promptly exercise its authority to ensure the safe disposal of discarded PVC and the 

protective management of associated chemical substances, including vinyl chloride and phthalate 

plasticizers.

12 See Jennifer Beth Sass et al., Vinyl Chloride: A Case Study of Data Suppression and 

Misrepresentation, 113 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 809, 811 (2005) (finding that EPA’s assessment 

of vinyl chloride “downplay[s] risk” and reflects excessive industry participation); see also Janet 

Kielhorn et al., Vinyl Chloride: Still a Cause for Concern, 108 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 579, 579

(2000) (explaining that vinyl chloride “remains a cause for concern because potential exposure to 

this chemical and new cases of [related cancers] are still being reported”).

13 Bonnie Ransom Stern et al., Are There Health Risks from the Migration of Chemical 

Substances from Plastic Pipes into Drinking Water? A Review, 14 HUMAN AND ECOLOGICAL 

RISK ASSESSMENT 753, 755 (2008).

14 Id. at 773-74.

15 Shanna H. Swan et al., Decrease in Anogenital Distance Among Male Infants with Prenatal 

Phthalate Exposure, 113 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 1056, 1056 (2005).

16 Jennifer J Adibi et al., Prenatal Exposures to Phthalates Among Women in New York City and 

Krakow, Poland, 111 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 1719, 1722 (2003) (reporting that pregnant women 

in New York City “appear to be exposed [to phthalates] at levels above background levels in the 

United States, which may have implications for their pregnancy and/or the fetus”).

17 S.M. Bidoki et al., Environmental and Economic Acceptance of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) 

Coating Agents, 18 J. OF CLEANER PRODUCTION 219, 221 (2010).

18 See Rochman et al., supra note 8, at 169.

19 Mehdi Sadat-Shojai et al., Recycling of PVC Wastes, 96 POLYMER DEGRADATION AND 

STABILITY 404, 404 (2011).

20 See M.H. Depledge et al., Plastic Litter in the Sea, 92 MARINE ENVTL. RES. 279, 279, 280 

(2013).
3

I. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

A. Statutory Background

In 1976, Congress enacted RCRA, recognizing that economic and population growth, 

accompanied by widespread improvements in the national standard of living, “ha[d] resulted in a 

rising tide of scrap, discarded, and waste materials,” leading to the “needless[] pollut[ion]” of the 

environment and endangering public health.21 Accordingly, the statute established guidelines 

concerning the proper management of “solid waste,”22 and imposed a comprehensive framework 

to ensure the safe treatment, storage and disposal of especially hazardous materials.23

Within the meaning of RCRA, “hazardous waste” includes any discarded material or 

“solid waste,”

which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious 

characteristics may—(A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in 

mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, 

illness; or (B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the 

environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or 

otherwise managed.24

To minimize the present and future threats associated with these materials, lawmakers directed 

EPA to impose stringent regulatory safeguards, including standards applicable to generators and 

transporters;25 requirements governing treatment, storage and disposal;26 and an extensive, 

“cradle to grave” manifest system, tracking the generation, transport and receipt of hazardous 

wastes.27 States may assume these regulatory responsibilities upon developing programs that are 

at least equivalent to federal guidelines, consistent with management practices in neighboring 

jurisdictions and subject to adequate enforcement.28

To implement the Act, EPA has developed criteria governing the identification and 

listing of hazardous wastes.29

 21 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901(a), (b).

 In relevant part, these regulations authorize EPA to classify as 

22 See id. §§ 6941-6969a. Subject to certain exclusions, “solid waste” encompasses “any 

garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air 

pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or 

contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural 

operations, and from community activities.” Id. § 6903(27). 

23 See id. §§ 6921-6939g. 

24 Id. § 6903(5) (emphasis added); see also id. § 6903(27). By regulation, EPA has excluded 

certain solid wastes from this definition, including those “derived from ... single and multiple 

residences, hotels and motels, bunkhouses, ranger stations, crew quarters, campgrounds, picnic 

grounds and day-use recreation areas.” 40 C.F.R. § 261.4(b)(1) (2013).

25 Id. §§ 6922, 6923.

26 Id. §§ 6924, 6925. 

27 Id. §§ 6922-6924.

28 Id. § 6926.

29 See 40 C.F.R. pt. 261.
4

hazardous any solid waste that typically contains a designated “toxic constituent,” provided that 

the agency’s analysis of eleven enumerated factors reveals that “the waste is capable of posing a 

substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly ... 

managed.”30 EPA has compiled an inventory of known “toxic constituents,” including 

substances that have been scientifically demonstrated “to have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic or 

teratogenic effects on humans or other life forms.”31 In assessing the hazards associated with 

wastes containing one or more of these substances, EPA must consider: 

(i) The nature of the toxicity presented by the constituent.

(ii) The concentration of the constituent in the waste.

(iii) The potential of the constituent or any toxic degradation product of the constituent 

to migrate from the waste into the environment under [plausible types of improper 

management].

(iv) The persistence of the constituent or any toxic degradation product of the 

constituent.

(v) The potential for the constituent or any toxic degradation product of the constituent 

to degrade into non-harmful constituents and the rate of degradation.

(vi) The degree to which the constituent or any degradation product of the constituent 

bioaccumulates in ecosystems.

(vii) The plausible types of improper management to which the waste could be 

subjected.

(viii) The quantities of the waste generated at individual generation sites or on a regional 

or national basis.

(ix) The nature and severity of the human health and environmental damage that has 

occurred as a result of the improper management of wastes containing the 

constituent.

(x) Action taken by other governmental agencies or regulatory programs based on the 

health or environmental hazard posed by the waste or waste constituent.

(xi) Such other factors as may be appropriate.32

In every instance, the agency must limit its analysis to these enumerated factors, consider each 

factor fully and adequately explain its final listing decision.33

 30 Id. § 261.11(a)(3).

 

31 Id.; see id. pt. 261, app. VIII. In other words, “the presence of any [toxic] constituent is 

presumed to be sufficient to list the waste unless after consideration of the designated multiple 

factors, EPA concludes that the waste is not hazardous.” Identification and Listing of Hazardous 

Waste, 45 Fed. Reg. 33,084, 33,107 (May 19, 1980) (emphasis added). 32 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3). 

33 See Hazardous Waste Treatment Council v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 861 F.2d 270, 277 (D.C. 

Cir. 1988) (limiting agency discretion to the listed factors); see also Dithiocarbamate Task Force 

v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 98 F.3d 1394, 1398 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (requiring EPA to consider 

each factor); Am. Mining Congress v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 907 F.2d 1179, 1189-90 (D.C. 

Cir. 1990) (remanding a listing decision because the agency relied on conclusory statements to 

dismiss relevant scientific data and otherwise failed to explain its decision).
5

In addition to expanding federal oversight of hazardous materials, RCRA requires EPA to 

promulgate “suggested guidelines for solid waste management.”34 Existing regulations address 

issues pertaining to the thermal processing, collection, storage, and recycling of wastes, and 

prescribe minimum criteria for state-operated disposal facilities.35 Although states retain 

primary authority to regulate non-hazardous materials under the Act, EPA’s guidelines are 

binding upon government agencies and contractors with “jurisdiction over any [federal] solid 

waste management facility or disposal site.”36 Members of the public may enforce these 

guidelines against appropriate entities pursuant to the statute’s citizen suit provision.37

Under RCRA, EPA has broad authority to prescribe all regulations necessary to “promote 

improved solid waste management techniques” and to “assur[e] that hazardous waste practices 

are conducted in a manner which protects human health and the environment.”

 

38 Lawmakers 

explicitly directed the agency to “provide[] for, encourage[], and assist[]” public participation in 

the “development, revision, implementation, and enforcement of any regulation, guideline, 

information, or program.”39 In addition, Congress empowered “[a]ny person” to seek further 

safeguards by petitioning the agency for “the promulgation, amendment or repeal of any 

regulation” under the Act.40 EPA must “take action” with respect to citizen petitions “[w]ithin a 

reasonable time following receipt.”41

As the General Accounting Office observed over twenty-five years ago, “[t]he first steps 

to successful nationwide management of hazardous waste are identifying which wastes present a 

clear threat to human health and the environment and then expeditiously bringing these wastes 

under regulatory control.”42 Although Congress explicitly directed EPA to “review[] and, where 

necessary, revise[]” its RCRA regulations at least once every three years,

43 the agency has 

largely failed to protect against emerging contaminants.44

 34 42 U.S.C. § 6907. 

 As this petition describes, substantial 

35 40 C.F.R. §§ 240, 243, 246-47, 257-58.

36 42 U.S.C. § 6961.

37 Id. § 6972.

38 Id. §§ 6902, 6921(a)(1).

39 Id. § 6974(b)(1).

40 Id. § 6974(a).

41 Id.

42 U.S. General Accounting Office, Hazardous Waste: New Approach Needed to Manage the

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 17 (1988).

43 42 U.S.C. § 6912(b) (“Each regulation promulgated under this chapter shall be reviewed and, 

where necessary, revised not less frequently than every three years.”).

44 See, e.g., U.S. General Accounting Office, supra note 42, at 18 (explaining that EPA had made 

little progress in identifying hazardous wastes by 1988, despite the fact that “EPA [then] 

believe[d] that potentially large numbers of hazardous wastes may need to be brought under 

some form of regulatory control”); see also Office of Inspector General, U.S. Envtl. Prot. 

Agency, EPA Inaction in Identifying Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals May Result in Unsafe 

Disposal 7 (2012) (“Although EPA has the authority under RCRA, it has [neither] added to its 

regulations pharmaceuticals that may qualify as hazardous since 1980,” nor “established a 

process for the regular identification and review of pharmaceuticals that may qualify for 

regulation.”); see also Office of Inspector General, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, EPA’s Endocrine 
6

scientific evidence now shows that the widespread mismanagement of discarded PVC has 

distributed toxic chemicals throughout our environment, threatening ecosystem health and 

endangering vulnerable portions of the human population. To reduce the need for future 

corrective action, EPA must promptly revise its regulations to ensure the proper disposal of 

discarded PVC.

45

B. Discarded PVC Satisfies the Criteria for Hazardous Waste

 

As discussed above,46 the term “hazardous waste” describes any “solid waste, or 

combination of solid wastes,” which possesses characteristics capable of harming human health 

or the environment.47 After disposal, PVC necessarily qualifies as “solid waste,” a category that 

is broadly defined to include all “garbage, refuse, ... and other discarded material.”48 For the 

reasons set forth below, discarded PVC also satisfies the regulatory criteria governing the 

identification of “hazardous” materials. Specifically, finished PVC products contain vinyl 

chloride, as well as significant concentrations of chemical additives, such as phthalate 

plasticizers, known “to have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic [and] teratogenic effects on humans 

[and] other life forms.”49 In addition, application of EPA’s multi-factor test, as set forth in detail 

below, clearly demonstrates that the mismanagement of discarded PVC could “pos[e] a 

substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment.”50 Indeed, recent 

scientific studies reveal that significant damage has already occurred.51

Exposure to vinyl chloride, phthalate plasticizers and other chemical additives is

associated with a broad array of developmental and behavioral abnormalities in humans and 

wildlife species.52 Depending on desired characteristics, PVC products frequently contain

substantial quantities of these compounds,

53 which naturally migrate into the environment

following disposal.

54 Once dissociated from plastic waste, phthalates resist physical and 

chemical degradation,

55 ultimately accumulating in the tissues of aquatic and terrestrial 

organisms, including human beings.

56 Conventional waste management practices allow 

substantial quantities of discarded PVC to reach the marine environment,57

 

Disruptor Screening Program Should Establish Management Controls to Ensure More Timely 

Results 9 (2011) (reporting that EPA “has not determined whether any chemical is a potential 

endocrine disruptor,” despite the expiration of relevant deadlines under several environmental 

laws). 

thereby contributing 

45 See 42 U.S.C. § 6902(a)(5).

46 See § I.A, supra. 47 42 U.S.C. § 6903(5).

48 Id. § 6903(27).

49 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3); see §§ I.B.1, I.B.2.a, infra. 50 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3); see § I.B.2, infra. 51 See sources cited infra § I.B.2.i. 52 See § I.B.2.a, infra. 53 See § I.B.2.b, infra. 54 See § I.B.2.c, infra. 55 See §§ I.B.2.d-e, infra.

56 See § I.B.2.f, infra. 57 See § I.B.2.g, infra. 
7

to the toxic contamination of vulnerable ocean species.58 According to recent estimates, 

Americans discard over seven billion pounds of PVC each year,

59 and experts suspect that 

virtually universal exposure to phthalate plasticizers “could be the leading cause of reproductive 

disorders in humans.”60 Existing regulations are inadequate to manage the risks associated with 

the widespread use and improper disposal of PVC.

61 Indeed, recent research indicates that the 

actual extent of phthalate contamination likely exceeds previously published estimates.62

1. Discarded PVC Contains Toxic Constituents

 

Because discarded PVC satisfies the criteria for hazardous waste designation, we urge EPA to 

promptly exercise its authority to ensure the safe disposal of this plastic trash.

As described above, EPA may classify as hazardous any solid waste that contains a 

“toxic constituent” and threatens to “pos[e] a substantial present or potential hazard to human 

health or the environment when improperly ... managed.”63 Vinyl chloride, which forms the 

base of finished PVC, is a known human carcinogen and designated toxic constituent.64

Moreover, because PVC is intrinsically unstable, the commercial viability and almost unlimited 

versatility of this material derive from complex formulations of chemical additives, which 

frequently include multiple toxic constituents.

65 For example, stabilizers mixed from lead,

barium and cadmium are often employed to facilitate high-temperature manufacturing

processes.

66 In addition, the industry relies heavily upon dialkyl- and alkylarylesters of 1,2-

benzenedicarboxylic acid, commonly known as phthalate plasticizers, to impart a range of 

beneficial properties to myriad consumer, construction and industrial goods.

67

 58 Maria Cristina Fossi et al., Are Baleen Whales Exposed to the Threat of Microplastics? A 

These compounds 

Case Study of the Mediterranean Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), 64 MARINE POLLUTION 

BULL. 2374, 2378 (2012). 59 See § I.B.2.h, infra.

60 Giuseppe Latini et al., Phthalate Exposure and Male Infertility, 226 TOXICOLOGY 90, 90 

(2006); see also § I.B.2.i, infra. 61 See § I.B.2.j, infra.

62 See § I.B.2.k, infra.

63 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3).

64 Vinyl Chloride, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/vinylchl.html 

(last visited July 23, 2014); see 40 C.F.R. pt. 261, app. VIII. EPA has also listed vinyl chloride 

as a drinking water contaminant and hazardous air pollutant. See List of Contaminants and their 

(MCLs), U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/#List (last visited 

May 18, 2014); see also The Original List of Hazardous Air Pollutants, U.S. Envtl. Prot. 

Agency, http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/188polls.html (last visited July 23, 2014). 65 Michael W. Allsop et al., Poly(Vinyl Chloride), in 28 ULLMANN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDUS.

CHEMISTRY 441, 441, 442, 463 (Electronic ed. 2012); see also David F. Cadogan et al., 

Plasticizers, in 27 ULLMANN’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDUS. CHEMISTRY 599, 607 (Electronic ed. 

2012) (“PVC would be of little use” as a commodity polymer “[w]ithout the wide range of 

additives available.”).

66 Stern et al., supra note 13, at 755.

67 Holger M. Koch et al., Human Body Burdens of Chemicals Used in Plastic Manufacture, 364 

PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 2063, 2064 (2009); Cadogan et al., supra note 65, at 

599; see also see also Chris E. Talsness et al., Components of Plastic: Experimental Studies in 
8

may comprise up to eighty percent of finished PVC, depending upon desired characteristics.68 

Despite the availability of less harmful alternatives,69 the industry consumes over fifteen billion 

pounds of vinyl chloride70 and sixteen billion pounds of phthalate plasticizers each year.71

According to EPA, many commercially important chemical additives, including 

phthalates, “have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic effects on humans or other life 

forms.”72 Specifically, the agency’s list of known toxic constituents includes butyl benzyl 

phthalate (“BBP”), dibutyl phthalate (“DBP”), diethyl phthalate, diethylhexyl phthalate 

(“DEHP”), dimethyl phthalate, and di-n-octyl phthalate (“DnOP”).73 EPA has also expressed 

concern about diisobutyl phthalate (“DIBP”), di-n-pentyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate 

(“DINP”) and diisodecyl phthalate (“DIDP”).74 These substances are not chemically bound to 

PVC and, thus, enter the environment naturally as discarded plastics deteriorate with age, 

resulting in pervasive contamination.75 As described below, mounting scientific evidence links 

phthalate exposure to a broad array of health and behavioral problems among human beings and 

wildlife.

76 To prevent further harm associated with the widespread dispersal of these toxic 

constituents, EPA must promptly revise its regulations to ensure the safe management of

discarded PVC.

 

Animals and Relevance for Human Health, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B

2079, 2080 (2009) (explaining that “the addition of phthalates makes brittle [PVC] soft”).

68 Mustafizur Rahman et al., The Plasticizer Market: An Assessment of Traditional Plasticizers 

and Research Trends to Meet New Challenges, 29 PROGRESS IN POLYMER SCI. 1223, 1231 

(2004); see also Allsop et al., supra note 65, at 442 (“Each producer makes a range of PVC 

polymers which vary in morphology and in molecular mass, depending on the intended end 

use.”).

69 Joshua Kastner et al., Aqueous Leaching of Di-2-Ethylhexyl Phthalate and “Green” 

Plasticizers from Poly(Vinyl Chloride), 432 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 357, 363 (2012).

70 Paul Wesley Brandt-Rauf et al., Plastics and Carcinogenesis: The Example of Vinyl Chloride

2, J. CARCINOGENESIS (2012), http://www.carcinogenesis.com/text.asp?2012/11/1/5/93700.

71 Subjankar Chatterjee et al., Removal of the Endocrine Disrupter Butyl Benzyl Phthalate from 

the Environment, 87 APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECH. 61, 62 (2010); Delilah Lithner et al., 

Leachates from Plastic Consumer Products – Screening for Toxicity with Daphnia magna, 74

CHEMOSPHERE 1195, 1199 (2009). 72 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3). 73 See id. pt. 261, app. VIII; see also Cadogan et al., supra note 65, at 600, 601 (listing phthalate 

plasticizers in common use). 

74 See U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, Phthalates Action Plan 2 (2012), http://www.epa.gov/oppt/

existingchemicals/pubs/actionplans/phthalates.html.

75 Ursel Heudorf et al., Phthalates: Toxicology and Exposure, 210 INT’L J. HYGIENE AND 

HEALTH 623, 624 (2007).

76 See § I.B.2.a, infra.
9

2. Discarded PVC Poses Significant Hazards to Human Health and the 

Environment

Before classifying a solid waste as hazardous, EPA must determine both that the material 

contains a designated toxic constituent and that its improper management could “pos[e] a 

substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment.”77 As discussed 

above, the agency has acknowledged that vinyl chloride, phthalate plasticizers and additional

chemical compounds “have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic [and] teratogenic effects on humans 

[and] other life forms.”78 In assessing the present and potential hazards arising from the 

widespread use and improper disposal of discarded PVC, EPA must consider eleven regulatory 

factors, set forth below.

79

a. Nature of the Toxicity Presented by Constituent Chemicals

 The following paragraphs summarize existing scientific knowledge 

concerning the toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation of vinyl chloride, phthalates and other

chemical additives. To reduce the serious harm to public health and the environment associated 

with these toxic constituents, EPA must immediately initiate rulemaking to ensure the safe 

disposal of discarded PVC. 

Researchers, regulators and industry representatives have long known that vinyl chloride 

causes cancer in laboratory animals and human beings.80

Inadequate waste management has already contributed to the extensive chemical 

pollution of the marine environment.

Now, mounting scientific evidence 

demonstrates that phthalate plasticizers interfere with the endocrine system, which governs the 

production and distribution of hormones in humans and wildlife species. Stricter regulation of 

discarded PVC is necessary to minimize environmental exposure to these chemicals. 

81 Aquatic organisms accumulate phthalate plasticizers 

directly from the surrounding water, as well as through the consumption of contaminated food 

and particles, giving rise to significant concerns about far-reaching biological consequences.82

 77 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3).

 

Researchers have hypothesized that endangered whales may be chronically exposed to phthalates 

78 Id.; see also § I.B.1, infra. 79 40 C.F.R. § 261.11(a)(3).

80 See Mulder et al., supra note 10, at 275-76; see also Sass et al., supra note 12, at 809 (arguing 

that, although industry toxicologists had reason to know of the “deadly hazards” of vinyl 

chloride by 1960, manufacturers “delayed public release of [these] findings” until 1974, when 

three factory workers died from an otherwise rare cancer associated with vinyl chloride 

exposure).

81 Ting Ye et al., Exposure to DEHP and MEHP from Hatching to Adulthood Causes 

Reproductive Dysfunction and Endocrine Disruption in Marine Medaka (Oryzias melastigma), 

146 AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY 115, 116 (2014); Ju-Chan Kang et al., Anti-Oxidative Status and 

Hepatic Enzymes Following Acute Administration of Diethyl Phthalate in Olive Flounder, 

Paralichthys olivaceus, a Marine Culture Fish, 73 ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVTL. SAFETY 1449, 

1449 (2010).

82 See, e.g., Herman O. Sanders et al., Toxicity, Residue Dynamics, and Reproductive Effects of 

Phthalate Esters in Aquatic Invertebrates, 6 ENVTL. RES. 84, 88 (1973) (reporting that 

“[i]nvertebrates exposed continuously to [phthalate esters in water rapidly accumulated total 

body residues many times greater than the concentrations in water”).
10

as a result of plastic fragment ingestion.83 In addition, laboratory evidence links environmentally 

relevant concentrations of these compounds to behavioral and developmental abnormalities in a 

range of aquatic species,84 demonstrating a “concrete risk” for populations living in polluted 

regions and threatening a cascade of effects throughout the ocean ecosystem.85

Relative salinity may influence the toxicity of aquatic contaminants.

 

86 Thus, although 

phthalate exposure alters enzyme activity in the vital organs of certain freshwater fish, 

contributing to “sluggish, non-motile behavior,” these compounds appear to produce opposite 

effects among some brackish species.87 Specifically, a recent study found that mummichogs 

(Fundulus heteroclitus) were approximately twice as likely to engage in agitated swimming 

patterns after brief exposure to low phthalate concentrations.88 In addition, the contaminated 

individuals exhibited altered social behavior, tending to shoal with relatively small fish, rather 

than joining similarly sized conspecifics.89 Because shoaling helps fish to evade predation, 

while also minimizing competition for food, these effects have “serious negative implications” 

for exposed individuals and, ultimately, may threaten population viability.90

A considerable body of scientific literature indicates that phthalates are potent endocrine 

disruptors,

 

91 which interfere with hormone regulation and reduce reproductive success among 

multiple aquatic and terrestrial species, including human beings.92

 83 See Fossi et al., supra note 58 at 2378.

 For example, 

environmentally relevant concentrations of phthalate plasticizers exert estrogenic effects in 

zebrafish (Danio rerio), quickly compromising reproductive cell development and thereby 

84 See, e.g., Jörg Oehlmann et al., A Critical Analysis of the Biological Impacts of Plasticizers on 

Wildlife, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOC. B 2047, 2051 (2009) (“Exposures to 

phthalates have ... been shown to alter behavior in fish.”); see also Ye, supra note 81, at 116 

(explaining that “DEHP has been extensively characterized as a developmental and reproductive 

toxicant in many aquatic toxicological studies,” and reviewing relevant research).

85 Oliana Carnevali et al., DEHP Impairs Zebrafish Reproduction by Affecting Critical Factors 

in Oogenesis, 5 PLOS ONE e10201, 5 (2010); Sanders et al., supra note 82, at 89 (1973).

86 Ye, supra note 81, at 116.

87 Nivedita Ghorpade et al., Toxicity Study of Diethyl Phthalate on Freshwater Fish Cirrhina 

mrigala, 53 ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVTL. SAFETY 255, 258 (2002).

88 Lisa A.E. Kaplan et al., Impact of Benzyl Butyl Phthalate on Shoaling Behavior in Fundulus 

heteroclitus (Mummichog) Populations, 86 MARINE ENVTL. RES. 70, 74 (2013).

89 Id.

90 Id.

91 See, e.g., D.B. Martinez-Arguelles et al., Maternal In Utero Exposure to the Endocrine 

Disruptor Di-(2-Ehtylhexyl) Phthalate Affects the Blood Pressure of Adult Male Offspring, 266 

TOXICOLOGY AND APPLIED PHARMACOLOGY 95, 95 (2013).

92 See, e.g., Safa Abdul-Ghani et al., The Teratogenicity and Behavioral Teratogenicity of Di(2-

Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) and Di-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) in a Chick Model, 34 

NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY 56, 60 (2012) (observing that “phthalate-induced DNA 

damage [among fetal chicks was] consistent with those found in mice and humans”); see also 

Swan et al., supra note 15, at 1060 (“[O]ur data suggest that the end points affected by ... 

phthalates are quite consistent across species.”).
11

impairing fecundity.93 These results are particularly alarming because the genetic structure of 

zebrafish closely mirrors that of human beings.94 Similarly, low phthalate doses, corresponding 

to observed levels of human exposure,95 lead to abnormal sexual differentiation in laboratory 

animals when administered during the “sensitive window” of fetal development.96 Among male 

offspring, prenatal phthalate contamination causes genital malformations, including undescended 

testicles and urethra displacement, impaired sperm production and significantly reduced 

testosterone levels, which persist into adulthood.97 Exposed females may experience excessive 

breast tissue growth and altered fertility cycles, in addition to various reproductive organ 

abnormalities.

98 Recent laboratory studies demonstrate that phthalate metabolites induce similar 

or more severe effects among marine animals99 and rodents.100

In the United States and other industrialized nations, human exposure to multiple 

phthalate plasticizers is “virtually universal,”

 

101 beginning in the womb102

 93 Bruna Corradetti et al., Bis-(2-Ethylexhyl) Phthalate Impairs Spermatogenesis in Zebrafish 

(Danio rerio), 13 REPROD. BIOLOGY 195, 200 (2013); Carnevali et al., supra note 85, at 5; cf.

Sanders, supra note 82, at 88 (concluding that chronic exposure to low phthalates concentrations 

significantly reduces rates of reproduction among ecologically important aquatic invertebrates). 

and continuing 

94 Carnevali et al., supra note 85, at 2.

95 See Martinez-Arguelles et al., supra note 91, at 98.

96 D.B. Martinez-Arguelles et al., Fetal Origin of Endocrine Dysfunction in the Adult: The 

Phthalate Model, 137 J. OF STEROID BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 5, 8 (2013)

[hereinafter Fetal Origin];Jane Fisher, Environmental Anti-Androgens and Male Reproductive 

Health: Focus on Phthalates and Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome, 127 REPROD. 302, 305-06 

(2004); see also Takashi Tanida et al., Fetal and Neonatal Exposure to Three Typical 

Environmental Chemicals with Different Mechanisms of Action: Mixed Exposure to Phenol, 

Phthalate, and Dioxin Cancels the Effects of Sole Exposure on Mouse Midbrain Dopaminergic 

Nuclei, 189 TOXICOLOGY LETTERS 40, 40 (2009) (reporting that “pre- and neonatal exposure to 

[endocrine disruptors] can disturb development even though the amounts of exposure are lower 

than the no-observed-adverse-effect level determined by toxicological tests using adult 

animals”).

97 Fetal Origin, supra note 96, at 8; Hanne Frederiksen et al., Metabolism of Phthalates in 

Humans, 51 MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RES. 899, 905 (2007); Latini et al., supra note 60,

at 93.

98 Fetal Origin, supra note 92, at 12.

99 Ye, supra note 81, at 125.

100 See Martinez-Arguelles et al., supra note 91, at 95.

101 S.H. Swan et al., Prenatal Phthalate Exposure and Reduced Masculine Play in Boys, 33 INT’L 

J. OF ANDROLOGY 259, 2 (2010) [hereinafter Masculine Play]; Kembra L. Howdeshell et al., 

Mechanisms of Action of Phthalate Esters, Individually and in Combination, to Induce Abnormal 

Reproductive Development in Male Laboratory Rats, 108 ENVTL. RES. 168, 169 (2008). 102 Frederiksen et al., supra note 97, at 906; see also Martinez-Arguelles et al., supra note 91, at 

95 (explaining that phthalates and their metabolites are present in amniotic fluid, umbilical cord 

blood and breast milk). 
12

throughout life,

and obesity,

103 thereby raising concerns about negative health consequences at every age.104 

For example, experimental and epidemiological evidence demonstrates that low levels of 

prenatal phthalate exposure influence fetal hormone regulation, resulting in abnormal 

development of the brain105 and reproductive organs.106 Additional adverse effects, such as 

altered gender-specific play behaviors107 and the potential for increased susceptibility to drug 

addiction, may become apparent only later in life.108 Ingestion of contaminated breast milk 

interferes with androgenic hormone production in male infants, potentially affecting sexual 

development,109 and childhood exposure may contribute to rising rates of attention deficit 

hyperactivity disorder,110 asthma111 113 as well as premature breast development in 

girls.

114 These results are consistent with laboratory data indicating that low doses of DEHP, 

including levels not previously associated with any adverse effect, “irreversibly” disturb brain 

development among fetal mice, subsequently inducing hyperactivity.115

 103 Phthalates Factsheet, CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (July 16, 2013), 

http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/phthalates_factsheet.html (confirming that phthalate 

contamination is widespread among all age groups).

Among adult men, 

104 See, e.g., Richard W. Stahlhut et al., Concentrations of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites Are 

Associated with Increased Waist Circumference and Insulin Resistant in Adult U.S. Males, 115 

ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 876, 880 (2007) (explaining that phthalate exposure might affect 

different segments of the population differently).

105 R. Hokanson et al., DEHP, Bis(2)-Ethylhexyl Phthalate, Alters Gene Expressive in Human 

Cells: Possible Correlation with Initiation of Fetal Developmental Abnormalities, 25 HUMAN &

EXPERIMENTAL TOXICOLOGY 687, 694 (2006).

106 Y. Suzuki et al., Foetal Exposure to Phthalate Esters and Anogenital Distance in Male 

Newborns, 34 INT’L J. OF ANDROLOGY 236, 243 (2012); Swan, supra note 15, at 1061. 107 Masculine Play, supra note 101, at 8.

108 See Douglas C. Jones, The Effects of Environmental Neurotoxicants on the Dopaminergic 

System: A Possible Role in Drug Addiction, 76 BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY 569, 576 (2008)

(explaining that “exposure to environmental estrogens during development can impact adult 

behaviors and sensitivity to the rewarding effects of drug abuse”). 

109 Katharina M. Main et al., Human Breast Milk Contamination with Phthalates and Alterations 

of Endogenous Reproductive Hormones in Infants Three Months of Age, 114 ENVTL. HEALTH 

PERSP. 270, 272-73 (2006).

110 Bung-Nyun Kim et al., Phthalates Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in 

School-Age Children, 66 BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY 958, 960-61 (2009). 

111 Barbara Kolarik et al., The Association Between Phthalates in Dust and Allergic Diseases 

Among Bulgarian Children, 116 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 98, 102 (2008).

113 Susan L. Teitelbaum et al., Associations Between Phthalate Metabolite Urinary 

Concentrations and Body Size Measures in New York City Children, 112 ENVTL. RES. 186, 189

(2012).

114 Ivelisse Colόn, Identification of Phthalate Esters in the Serum of Young Puerto Rican Girls 

with Premature Breast Development, 108 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 895, 899 (2000).

115 Tanida et al., supra note 96, at 45; cf. Martine Culty et al., In Utero Exposure to Di-(2-

Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Exerts Both Short-Term and Long-Lasting Suppressive Effects on 

Testosterone Production in the Rat, 78 BIOLOGY OF REPROD. 1018, 1025 (2008) (reporting that 
13

urinary concentrations of phthalate plasticizers correlate with poor semen quality,116 abdominal 

obesity and insulin resistance.117 Exposed women may be more likely to suffer pregnancy 

complications118 and contract diabetes.119 In addition, scientific studies indicate that phthalate 

plasticizers may exert carcinogenic effects in the liver and other organs.120

b. Concentration of Toxic Constituents in Discarded PVC

 In light of wellestablished scientific evidence concerning the toxicity of discarded PVC, vinyl chloride and 

associated chemical additives, we urge EPA to take prompt action to ensure the safe disposal of 

this material.

Discarded PVC contains substantial concentrations of vinyl chloride and phthalate 

plasticizers, thus illustrating the need for more protective regulations. As a whole, the PVC

industry consumes over 98 percent of global vinyl chloride production and at least 90 percent of 

phthalate output worldwide,

121 which respectively exceed 16 and 18 billion pounds each year.122 

These substances are essential components of a wide variety of goods, ranging from artificial 

leather and traffic cones to plastic bags, children’s toys and construction supplies.123 Depending 

on desired characteristics, phthalate plasticizers may constitute up to 80 percent of finished PVC 

products, thereby posing significant risks to human health and the environment.124

 

“behavioral and other deficits ... might occur during early development if the brain is not 

exposed to adequate androgen levels”).

 For example, 

over a decade ago, the American Medical Association warned that PVC treatment devices 

116 Russ Hauser et al., Altered Semen Quality in Relation to Urinary Concentrations of Phthalate 

Monoester and Oxidative Metabolites, 17 EPIDEMIOLOGY 682, 687 (2006); Susan M. Duty et al., 

Phthalate Exposure and Human Semen Parameters, 14 EPIDEMIOLOGY 269, 274 (2003).

117 Stahlhut et al., supra note 104, at 800.

118 Fetal Origin, supra note 96, at 12.

119 Katherine Svensson et al., Phthalate Exposure Associated with Self-Reported Diabetes 

Among Mexican Women, 111 ENVTL. RES. 792, 795 (2011).

120 Ivan Rusyn, Mechanistic Considerations for Human Relevance of Cancer Hazard of Di(2-

Ethylhexyl) Phthalate, 750 MUTATION RES. 141, 154 (2012).

121 Brandt-Rauf et al., supra note 70, at 2; Lithner et al., supra note 71, at 1199; cf. Sass et al., 

supra note 12, at 809 (reporting that “[v]inyl chloride ... is manufactured exclusively for 

polymerization into [PVC]”).

122 Brandt-Rauf et al., supra note 70, at 2; Chatterjee et al., supra note 71, at 62.

123 Chatterjee et al., supra note 71, at 62; Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, Dep’t of 

Health and Human Servs., Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental 

Chemicals 258 (2009); T.J. Wams, Diethylhexylphthalate as an Environmental Contaminant: A 

Review, 66 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 1, 2 (1987).

124 See, e.g., Rahman et al., supra note 68, at 1231 (explaining that certain medical plastics, such 

as dialysis tubing, contain as much as 80 percent DEHP by weight); San Francisco Dept. of the 

Env’t, Detailed Results of Phthalate Testing in Children’s Toys 2 (2008), http://www.

sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/sfe_th_phthalate_testing_in_toys_detailed_result

s.pdf (presenting test results indicating that phthalate plasticizers comprise over 77 percent of 

certain children’s toys).
14

expose critically ill infants to levels of DEHP likely to impair reproductive development.125 In 

addition, scientific research demonstrates that a number of PVC consumer products, including 

bath toys and inflatable swim rings, release phthalate plasticizers and other chemical additives to 

water in concentrations which may produce acutely toxic effects.126 EPA itself has 

acknowledged that DEHP is a “probable human carcinogen.”127

Despite these risks, existing regulations fail to ensure the safe disposal of discarded PVC.

For instance, although the construction sector accounts for approximately one-half of PVC 

demand

 

128 and one-third of national DEHP consumption,129 an EPA guidance document 

identifies most industry waste as nonhazardous, and fails to include any instructions for the 

proper management of discarded PVC.130

c. Migration Potential

 Stricter regulation is necessary to minimize the 

potential for additional harm. 

Because vinyl chloride, phthalate plasticizers and other chemical additives migrate into 

the environment as discarded PVC deteriorates with age, EPA must immediately impose 

additional regulations to protect human health and the environment from further chemical 

contamination. As the agency has explained, any waste that includes a toxic constituent is 

“presum[ptively]” hazardous.131 Indeed, with respect to discarded materials containing vinyl 

chloride and other drinking water contaminants, such as barium, cadmium, DEHP and lead,

132

EPA “treat[s] ... factors such as migration potential as essentially mitigating considerations 

which might render the waste non-hazardous.”133

In the present situation, a review of existing scientific literature clearly supports the 

stricter regulation of discarded PVC. Recent scientific evidence demonstrates that PVC pipe, 

which constitutes a growing percentage of the nation’s water system, leaches increasing 

concentrations of vinyl chloride and other chemical compounds during use and after disposal.134

 125 Am. Med. Ass’n, DEHP Use in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (2001), Health Care Without 

Harm, http://noharm.org/lib/downloads/pvc/PVC_Stmt_AMA_12-01.pdf.

 

126 Lithner, supra note 71, at 1199.

127 Di(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/

0014.htm.

128 Bidoki, supra note 17, at 220.

129 S. Magdouli, Di 2-Ethylhexylphtalate in the Aquatic and Terrestrial Environment: A Critical 

Review, 127 J. OF ENVTL. MGMT. 36, 39 (2013).

130 See generally Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 

RCRA in Focus: Construction, Demolition, and Renovation (2004). 

131 See Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, 45 Fed. Reg. 33,084, 33,107 (May 19, 

1980).

132 See List of Contaminants and their (MCLs), U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, http://water.epa.gov/

drink/contaminants/#List (last visited May 18, 2014).

133 Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, 45 Fed. Reg. at 33,107 (emphasis added).

134 Ryan K. Walter et al., Investigation of Factors Affecting the Accumulation of Vinyl Chloride 

in Polyvinyl Chloride Piping Used in Drinking Water Distribution Systems, 45 WATER RES.

2607, 2614 (2011); Stern et al., supra note 13, at 755, 758, 761; see also L. Zhang et al., 

Investigation of Organic Compounds Migration from Polymeric Pipes into Drinking Water
15

The rate of accumulation varies significantly according to the conditions of use, as well as the 

age, origin and manufacturer of the pipe.

135 For example, “early era” pipes, which were built 

before 1977 and remain in use today, may be especially likely to release dangerous quantities of 

vinyl chloride.

136 Moreover, as described above,137 phthalate plasticizers are not chemically 

bound to the plastic matrix and thus “leach, migrate or evaporate” into surrounding media and 

the atmosphere even under ideal conditions,138 resulting in pervasive contamination.139 High 

concentrations of these compounds seep into soil and groundwater following conventional 

landfill disposal,140 ultimately collecting in aquatic ecosystems and entering marine food 

webs.141

 

Under Long Retention Times, 70 PROCEDIA ENGINEERING 1753, 1754 (2014) (reporting that “the 

main leachates from PVC pipe are metal stabilizers like lead, tin, barium, [and] calcium ... , 

vinyl chloride monomers ... and other contaminants related with plasticizers, antioxidants and 

lubricants commonly used in pipe manufacturing processes”); see also M.R. Lasheen et al., 

Factors Influencing Lead and Iron Release from Some Egyptian Drinking Water Pipes, 160 J. OF 

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 675, 676 (2008) (finding that PVC pipes release more lead than other 

common varieties).

 As a result of their widespread use and significant tendency to migrate, phthalates are 

135 Walter et al., supra note 134, at 2614; Stern et al., supra note 13, at 758.

136 Stern et al., supra note 13, at 758, 761.

137 See § 1.B.1, supra. 138 Heudorf et al., supra note 75, at 624; see also Yvonne R. Shashoua, Effect of Indoor Climate 

on the rate and Degradation Mechanism of Plasticized Poly (Vinyl Chloride), 81 POLYMER 

DEGRADATION AND SUSTAINABILITY 29, 29 (2003) (reporting that “[i]n many international 

museum collections, degradation of plasticized PVC materials ... has been detected as early as 5 

years after acquisition,” and concluding that “[t]he rate and extent of deterioration of plasticized 

PVC and the migration and loss of DEHP plasticizer [are] related”). 139 See, e.g., Fossi et al., supra note 58, at 2375 (“[Phthalates] are not covalently bound to plastic 

and migrate from the products to the environment, thus becoming ubiquitous contaminants.”); 

see also Kaplan et al., supra note 88, at 71 (reporting that “[p]hthalates have been detected in all 

aspects of the environmental [sic]: water, air, sediment, biota, marine, and freshwater 

ecosystems”); see also M. Abdel daiem et al., Environmental Impact of Phthalic Acid Esters and 

their Removal form Water and Sediments by Different Technologies – A Review, 109 J. OF 

ENVTL. MGMT. 164, 167 (2012) 167 (explaining that “the slow release of phthalates from plastics 

and other phthalate containing materials due to weathering” accounts for much of the presence of 

these compounds in the environment).

140 Abdel daiem et al., supra note 139, at 165, 168; see also Chatterjee et al., supra note 71, at 68 

(“Appreciable amounts of phthalates have been detected in liquid samples withdrawn from 

landfills and in landfill leachates.”); see also Emma L. Teuten et al., Transport and Release of 

Chemicals from Plastics to the Environment and Wildlife, 364 PHIL. TRANSACTIONS OF THE 

ROYAL SOC. B 2027, 2028 (2009) (reporting that discarded PVC and other plastics waste release 

phthalate plasticizers “after their disposal, for example in landfills”).

141 Depledge et al., supra note 20, at 280; see also Zhang Cheng et al., Risk Assessments of 

Human Exposure to Bioaccessible Phthalate Esters through Market Fish Consumption, 57-58

ENVT. INT’L 75, 75 (2013) (“Human exposure to phthalate ester mainly occurs through dietary 

intake, due [in part] to the bioaccumulation of phthalate esters in food chains.”).
16

the most abundant anthropogenic chemicals in the environment.142

d. Persistence

 To reduce the need for future 

corrective action, we urge EPA to promptly revise its regulations so as to ensure the safe disposal

of discarded PVC. 

The environmental persistence of phthalate plasticizers indicates the urgent need for more 

protective regulation. By definition, persistent pollutants resist physical, chemical and biological 

degradation, thus remaining in the environment for years. Multiple researchers have 

acknowledged the persistent nature of phthalate plasticizers,143 and the widespread occurrence of 

these compounds clearly demonstrates that their massive rate of synthesis outpaces natural 

removal processes.144 For example, DEHP is abundant in surface waters, despite its mediumspecific half-life of fewer than five weeks.145 Further, as a consequence of its “highly 

hydrophobic” character, this compound also tends to form strong bonds with suspended 

particulates and ultimately accumulates in aquatic sediments, where estimates indicate it will 

persist for more than 100 years.146

e. Degradation Potential and Rate of Degradation

 The environmental ubiquity of phthalate plasticizers serves 

both to reflect the extensive production of these compounds, and to demonstrate their resistance 

to degradation. Because existing levels phthalate contamination will continue to threaten 

humans and wildlife species indefinitely, EPA must promptly take action to minimize future 

exposure. 

An examination of the process by which phthalate plasticizers degrade clearly 

demonstrates the need for stricter regulation. As discussed above,147

 142 Susan Jobling et al., A Variety of Environmentally Persistent Chemicals, Including Some 

Phthalate Plasticizers, Are Weakly Estrogenic, 103 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 582, 585 (1995).

these compounds are 

ubiquitous in the environment. Once released from discarded PVC, phthalates resist physical 

143 See, e.g., Abdel daiem et al., supra note 139, at 166 (listing phthalates among “persistent 

toxic organic compounds”); see also Walter Klöpffer, Environmental Hazard Assessment of 

Chemicals and Products. Part V. Anthropogenic Chemicals in Sewage Sludge, 33 CHEMOSPHERE 

1067, 1072 (1996) (arguing that DEHP “should be considered as a persistent chemical,” because 

“it is not degraded in anaerobic media”); see also Jobling et al., supra note 142, at 582 

(describing phthalate plasticizers as “environmentally persistent chemicals”). 144 Rishikesh Mankidy et al., Biological Impact of Phthalates, 217 TOXICOLOGY LETTERS 50, 56 

(2013).

145 B. Migliarini et al., Perspectives on Endocrine Disruptor Effects on Metabolic Sensors, 170

GEN. AND COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY 416, 417 (2011); see also Magdouli, supra note 129, 

at 42 (observing that “[t]he abundance of DEHP in [the] aqueous environment is mainly related 

to its extensive utilization and production” because, “[d]ue to its highly hydrophobic properties, 

the principal fate of DEHP in water and wastewater could be adsorption to the suspended 

solids”).

146 Migliarini et al., supra note 145, at 417.

147 See § I.B.2.c, supra.
17

and chemical degradation.

148 Scientists have long recognized that the biological transformation 

of phthalate plasticizers “comes to a standstill” under anaerobic conditions, such as those found 

in deep soils, aquatic sediments, and most landfills.149 In aerobic environments, the partial 

degradation of these chemicals yields metabolites that are more harmful than the original 

plasticizers, including 2-ethylhexanoic acid, 2-ethylhexanal and 2-ethylhexanol.

150 Field studies

have detected these acutely toxic metabolites in surface waters, river sediment, freshly fallen 

snow and even tap water, giving rise to significant concern about potential consequences for 

human health and the environment.151

f. Bioaccumulation

Scientific evidence clearly shows that phthalate plasticizers concentrate in animal tissues 

and vegetable matter, posing a significant threat to human and ecosystem health. Fish and other 

aquatic organisms accumulate phthalates directly from the environment and as a consequence of 

ingesting contaminated food and particles.152 For example, scientific evidence indicates that 

certain microscopic plastic fragments enter the marine food web by adhering to algae.153 In 

addition, studies have documented plastic consumption among vertebrates and invertebrates 

from every feeding guild,154 ranging from zooplankton155 to large, predatory sharks156 and 

endangered sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).157

 148 Wams, supra note 123, at 1; see also, e.g., Magdouli et al., supra note 129, at 42 (reporting 

that the half-life of DEHP under sunlight irradiation in aquatic environments may exceed four 

years). 

 Nearly a decade ago, researchers found 

that over 97 percent of dead and injured Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chicks 

contained plastics, and concluded that the incidence and quantity of ingestion was likely 

149 Wams, supra note 123, at 6.

150 Owen Horn et al., Plasticizer Metabolites in the Environment, 38 WATER RES. 3693, 3695

(2004); Sandro Nalli et al., Metabolites from the Degradation of Di-Ester Plasticizers by 

Rhodococcus rhodochrous, 366 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 286, 293 (2006).

151 Horn et al., supra note 150, at 3695; see S. Barnabé et al., Plasticizers and Their Degradation 

Products in the Process Streams of a Large Urban Physicochemical Sewage Treatment Plant, 42 

WATER RES. 153, 154 (2008) (summarizing existing data).

152 See, e.g., Wen-Xiong Wang et al., Dioxin and Phthalate Uptake and Assimilation by the 

Green Mussel Perna viridis, 178 ENVTL. POLLUTION 455, 461 (2013).

153 Priyanka Bhattacharya et al., Physical Adsorption of Charged Plastic Nanoparticles Affects 

Algal Photosynthesis, 114 J. OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C 16,556, 16,558-60 (2010).

154 Juliana A. Ivar do Sul et al., Pelagic Microplastics Around an Archipelago of the Equatorial 

Atlantic, 75 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 305, 305 (2013).

155 See, e.g., Matthew Cole et al., Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton, 47 ENVTL. SCI. &

TECH. 6646, 6647 (2013); see also Outi Setälä et al., Ingestion and Transfer of Microplastics in 

the Planktonic Food Web, 185 ENVTL. POLLUTION 77, 80 (2014). 156 Henry S. Carson, The Incidence of Plastic Ingestion by Fishes: From the Prey’s Perspective, 

74 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 170, 173 (2013).

157 Jeff K. Jacobsen et al., Fatal Ingestion of Floating Net Debris by Two Sperm Whales 

(Physeter macrocephalus), 60 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 765, 766 (2010); see also 50 C.F.R. § 

17.11 (listing P. macrocephalus as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 

1531 et seq.).
18

increasing.158 Although most organisms seem to mistake plastic debris for natural prey or 

passively ingest particles during normal feeding behavior,159 certain species preferentially 

consume PVC and other plastic waste.160

Once ingested by lower trophic organisms, plastic fragments and associated chemical 

additives pass to aquatic predators, ultimately affecting commercially-harvested fish and 

endangering human health. Scientific evidence demonstrates that ingested plastics can remain in 

an organism’s body for weeks, accumulating in the digestive tract or translocating to the 

circulatory system, thereby facilitating trophic transfer and increasing the risk that phthalates and 

other toxic chemicals will migrate into the organism’s tissues.

 

161 Indeed, a recent study 

demonstrated that shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) ingest and retain plastic fragments originally 

consumed by prey.162 Moreover, new experimental evidence confirms what scientists have long 

suspected: additive chemicals transfer from plastics to organisms following ingestion.163

 158 Heidi J. Auman et al., Plastic Ingestion by Laysan Albatross Chicks on Sand Island, Midway 

Atoll, in 1994 and 1995, in ALBATROSS BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 239, 240, 243 (G. 

Robinson et al. eds., 1997). 

 These 

159 Stephanie L. Wright et al., The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A 

Review, 178 ENVTL. POLLUTION 483, 484 (2013).

160 Erin R. Graham et al., Deposit- and Suspension-Feeding Sea Cucumbers (Echinodermata) 

Ingest Plastic Fragments, 368 J. OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 22, 25, 27, 

28 (2009).

161 See, e.g., Mark A. Browne et al., Ingested Microscopic Plastic Translocates to the 

Circulatory System of the Mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.), 42 ENVTL. SCI. AND TECH. 5026, 5028 

(2008) (noting that “particles of plastic have been shown to accumulate in the gut cavity of birds, 

fish, and polychaete worms,” and reporting data indicating that plastic particles “translocated 

from gut cavity [of mussels] to the circulatory system in as little as 3 days and persisted in the 

circulatory system for over 48 days”). 

162 Paul Farrell et al., Trophic Level Transfer of Microplastic: Mytilus edulis (L.) to Carcinus 

maenas (L.), 17 ENVTL. POLLUTION 1, 3 (2013); see also Fiona Murray et al., Plastic 

Contamination in the Decapod Crustacean Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758), 62 MARINE 

POLLUTION BULL. 1207, 1212 (2011) (reporting that commercially-harvested Norway lobsters 

(Nephrops norvegicus) accumulated plastic transported by prey items).

163 See Radwa A. Barakat et al., Early Investigation of Hepatocarcinogenic Effect of Polyvinyl 

Chloride in Rat, 12 GLOBAL VETERINARIA 67, 72 (2014) (finding that, after consuming PVC, rats 

exhibit symptoms similar to those associated with direct exposure to vinyl chloride); see also 

Mark Anthony Browne et al., Microplastic Moves Pollutants and Additives to Worms, Reducing 

Functions Linked to Health and Biodiversity, 23 CURRENT BIOLOGY 2388, 2390 (2013) 

(presenting “the first suitably controlled experimental evidence showing that eating of plastics 

can move pollutants and additives into the tissues of animals”); see also Cole et al., supra note 

155, at 6653 (reporting that “[t]he leaching of additives and disassociation of toxic chemicals 

post-ingestion has been modeled in polychaete worms and demonstrated in streaked 

shearwaters”); see also Chelsea M. Rochman et al., Ingested Plastic Transfers Hazardous 

Chemicals to Fish and Induces Hepatic Stress, 3 SCI. REP. 3263, 5 (2013) (finding that fish 

absorb chemical constituents and other pollutants from ingested plastic debris); see also Michael 

O. Gaylor et al., House Crickets Can Accumulate Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) 

Directly from Polyurethane Foam Common in Consumer Products, 86 CHEMOSPHERE 500, 504
19

data bolster field observations indicating that fish,164 seabirds165 and endangered fin whales 

(Balaenoptera physalus)

166 accumulate contaminants, including phthalate plasticizers, as a result 

of exposure to plastic debris. Thus, scientific evidence strongly indicates that the consumption 

of PVC and other plastic waste constitutes an important vector of chemical additives into the 

marine food web.

167

After dissociating from PVC, phthalates accumulate in the tissues of aquatic 

organisms,168 including those targeted by commercial fisheries.169 Scientific evidence indicates 

that humans acquire these chemicals primarily as a result of dietary exposure,170

 

(2012) (concluding that soil-dwelling insects may “accumulate appreciable .. burdens” of 

additive chemicals as a result of plastic ingestion).

including the 

164 Chelsea M. Rochman et al., Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Fish Tissue May Be 

an Indicator of Plastic Contamination in Marine Habitats, 476-77 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 622, 

623 (2014).

165 Kosuke Tanaka et al., Accumulation of Plastic-Derived Chemicals in Tissues of Seabirds 

Ingesting Marine Plastics, 69 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 219, 221 (2013). 166 Fossi, supra note 58, at 2378; see also 50 C.F.R. § 17.11 (listing B. physalus as endangered 

under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq.).

167 Because many plastic additives are ubiquitous in the environment, scientists have struggled to 

establish that the bioaccumulation of these substances results from ingestion, rather than some 

other form of exposure. See, e.g., Rochman et al., supra note 164, at 632. Despite the surprising 

lack of data, experts have hypothesized that plastic consumption spreads chemical contamination 

throughout the food web. See, e.g., id. (concluding that existing evidence “suggests that the 

ingestion of plastic debris may be an important mechanism for the bioaccumulation of hazardous 

chemicals in wildlife”); see also Galgani et al., supra note 7, at 1057 (“Ingestion of microplastic 

material ... presents a route by which chemicals could pass from plastics into the food chain.”); 

see also Peter Davison et al., Plastic Ingestion by Mesopelagic Fishes in the North Pacific 

Subtropical Gyre, 432 MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 173, 173 (2011) (“[Ingestion of 

plastic by fishes may] serve as a point of entry of plastic-associated toxins into the food chain.”);

see also Barnes et al., supra note 5, at 1995 (“Small and microscopic plastic fragments present a 

likely route for the transfer of [additive] chemicals.”).

168 See, e.g., A. Dick Vethaak et al., An Integrated Assessment of Estrogenic Contamination and 

Biological Effects in the Aquatic Environment of The Netherlands, 59 CHEMOSPHERE 511, 516

(2009) (detecting nine phthalates and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the muscle tissue 

of wild-caught bream (Abramis brama) and European flounder (Platichthys flesus)).

169 See generally Davison et al., supra note 167, at 173 (observing that “[m]any commercially 

harvested fish feed at a high trophic level and may be subject to biomagnification of the toxins 

ingested by their prey”); see also Chatterjee, supra note 71, at 62 (“[Certain phthalates] can 

accumulate in the food chain via biomagnifications as one organism consumes food lower in the 

food chain and is subsequently consumed by an organisms higher in the food chain; humans are 

generally at the top of such chains and this increases their exposure.”). 

170 See, e.g., Giuseppe Latini et al., Plasticizers, Infant Nutrition and Reproductive Health, 19 

REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY 27, 28 (2004) (explaining that dietary exposure is the main source 

of DEHP contamination among the general population); see also Leonardo Trasande et al., 

Phthalates and the Diets of US Children and Adolescents, 126 ENVTL. RES. 84, 84 (2013) 
20

consumption of contaminated fish and seafood.171 A recent analysis of marine and freshwater 

fish purchased from Hong Kong markets detected multiple phthalates in each sample, raising 

concerns that fish-heavy diets might lead to an increased incidence of cancer.172 Similarly, in a 

study evaluating infertile men, researchers determined that phthalate concentrations were highest 

among regular fish-eaters, regardless of other lifestyle factors.173 Scientific research reveals that 

phthalates also accumulate in terrestrial ecosystems,174 contributing to the contamination of fruit, 

vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products.175 In addressing the dangers associated with 

the bioaccumulation of PVC-derived chemicals, EPA must account for all sources of human 

exposure176 and consider the additive, synergistic and multiplicative toxic effects of other

pervasive pollutants.177

g. Plausible Improper Management

As this petition explains, the mismanagement of discarded PVC is not only “plausible,” 

but typical. Accordingly, this factor strongly supports the issuance of more protective 

regulations. In evaluating the risks associated with the plausible mismanagement of a potentially 

hazardous waste, EPA considers whether improper disposal could result in a “substantial hazard” 

to human health or the environment.178

 

(“[D]ietary intake from contaminated food is the largest contributor of [DEHP] exposure in 

children.”).

 The agency will consider the possibility of harm even if 

171 Cheng et al., supra note 141, at 78. 172 Id. at 79.

173 Roya Rozati et al., Role of Environmental Estrogens in the Deterioration of Male Factor 

Fertility, 78 FERTILITY AND STERILITY 1187, 1191 (2002).

174 See, e.g., Abdel daiem et al., supra note 139, at 166 (observing that “[t]he use of sewage 

sludge in agriculture ... poses a growing threat to ecosystems and human health,” because it 

introduces phthalates into the food chain).

175 See generally Justin A. Colacino et al., Dietary Intake is Associated with Phthalate Body 

Burden in a Nationally Representative Sample, 118 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 998, 1002 (2010)

(assessing the contribution of various foods to phthalate exposure); see also T. Fierens et al., 

Phthalates in Belgian Cow’s Milk and the Role of Feed and Other Contamination Pathways at 

Farm Level, 50 FOOD AND CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGY 2945, 2950 (2012) (explaining that 

phthalates present in raw cow’s milk might derive from contaminated feed, including pasture 

plants); see also Ce-Hui Mo et al., Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Phthalic Acid Esters 

in Vegetables from Nine Farms of the Pearl River Delta, South China, 56 ARCHIVES OF ENVTL.

CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY 181, 186-87 (2009) (explaining that vegetables accumulate 

phthalates “from soil-to-root transfer and subsequently root-to-shoot translocation”).

176 See, e.g., Matthias Wormuth et al., What are the Sources of Exposure to Eight Frequently 

Used Phthalic Acid Esters in Europeans?, 26 RISK ANALYSIS 803, 816 (2006) (analyzing various 

“oral, dermal, and inhalation pathways causing consumer exposure to phthalates”).

177 See Colacino, supra note 175, at 1002; see also José G. Dόrea, Persistent, Bioaccumulative 

and Toxic Substances in Fish: Human Health Considerations, 400 SCI. OF THE TOTAL ENV’T 93,

94 (2008) (explaining that “human exposure to pollutants, when consuming fish or seafood, is 

rarely limited to a single chemical, especially when consuming large predatory species coming 

from a marine environment”).

178 Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, 45 Fed. Reg. 33,084, 33,113 (May 19, 1980).
21

“most or all generators ... dispose of [a given] waste properly.”179 Moreover, the presence of 

potential carcinogens or “significant concentrations” of other toxic constituents give rise to a 

presumption in favor of listing.180 In certain situations, “actual damage incidents involving the 

waste or waste constituents demonstrate empirically that waste constituents may migrate, persist, 

and cause substantial harm if mismanaged,” thus eliminating the need for this theoretical 

analysis.181

As described below, existing environmental regulations are inadequate to ensure the safe 

disposal of discarded PVC.

 

182 Experts attribute a large portion of marine plastic pollution to 

flawed waste management techniques,183 including the careless transport and improper burial of 

plastic trash.184 Similarly, scientific evidence indicates that phthalate plasticizers may percolate 

into groundwater through poorly lined landfills or enter the atmosphere as a consequence of PVC 

incineration, resulting in widespread contamination.185 Indeed, “virtually universal” human 

exposure may already have contributed to a variety of public health crises,186 including the 

increased incidence of obesity187 and declining fertility rates throughout the Western world.188

h. Quantities of Waste Generated

Because the improper management of discarded PVC continues to damage human health and the 

environment, EPA must promptly regulate this waste as hazardous. 

The vast quantities of PVC fabricated and discarded each year demonstrate the need for 

an improved management regime. Despite slow economic growth, United States manufacturers 

produced over 100 billion pounds of plastics in 2013, including nearly 15.5 billion pounds of 

PVC189 and approximately 4.7 billion pounds of associated DEHP.

190 Experts expect these totals 

to increase in coming years, as “the surge in unconventional oil and gas development” lowers 

production costs, and the continued recovery of the construction industry and other important 

markets gives rise to increasing demand.191

 179 Id.; but see Dithiocarbamate Task Force v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 98 F.3d 1394, 1401 

(D.C. Cir. 1996) (concluding that “simple accidents” do not constitute plausible 

mismanagement).

 According to EPA, PVC is “not widely recycled in 

180 Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, 45 Fed. Reg. at 33,113.

181 Id.

182 See §§ I.B.2.j, infra. 183 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, INTERAGENCY REPORT ON MARINE 

DEBRIS SOURCES, IMPACTS, STRATEGIES & RECOMMENDATIONS 19-20 (2008).

184 Barnes et al., supra note 5, at 1986. 

185 Chatterjee et al., supra note 71, at 62; Kang et al., supra note 81, at 1440.

186 Masculine Play, supra note 101, at 2. Latini, supra note 60, at 90.

187 Teitelbaum et al., supra note 113, at 189; Stahlhut et al., supra note 104, at 800.

188 See § I.B.2.i, infra. 189 Am. Chemistry Council, U.S. Resin Production & Sales 2013 vs. 2012 (Mar. 2014), 

http://www.americanchemistry.com/Jobs/EconomicStatistics/Plastics-Statistics/ Production-andSales-Data-by-Resin.pdf.

190 See Wams, supra note 123, at 2 (explaining that, on average, DEHP constitutes 30 percent of 

finished PVC). 

191 Am. Chemistry Council, U.S. Resins Industry Strengthens in 2013 1, http://www.
22

practice.”192 Indeed, estimates indicate that more than 7.2 billion pounds of this material enter 

landfills throughout the United States each year.193

i. Nature and Severity of the Human Health and Environmental Damage that 

Has Occurred

 We urge the agency to promptly revise its 

regulations so as to ensure the safe management of this increasing volume of waste. 

The improper disposal of PVC has likely already caused significant harm to human 

health. By the mid-1970s, vinyl chloride had contributed to nearly one dozen worker deaths,

194

and experts warn that the continued widespread use of this substance “remains a cause for 

concern.”195 As described above,196 prenatal exposure to phthalate plasticizers and their 

metabolites interferes with hormone regulation and alters sexual development in male laboratory 

animals, inducing a suite of abnormalities known to scientists as “phthalate syndrome.”197 

Among humans, chronic contamination begins even before birth,198 posing grave biological 

consequences.199 Moreover, a growing body of experimental and epidemiological evidence 

suggests that widespread exposure to phthalates and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals has 

already contributed to significant declines in semen quality200 and deteriorating reproductive 

health across the industrialized world.201

Within the past decade, researchers have identified a spectrum of increasingly prevalent 

disorders, collectively termed “testicular dysgenesis syndrome,” which likely arise from 

impaired hormone production during fetal development.

 

202

 

americanchemistry.com/Jobs/EconomicStatistics/Plastics-Statistics/Year-in-Review.pdf (last 

visited May 13, 2014). 

 Specific symptoms, including genital 

192 U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, Plastics 3 (Feb. 2012), http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/

conserve/tools/warm/pdfs/Plastics.pdf.

193 Michael Belliveau et al., PVC – Bad News Comes in Threes: The Poison Plastic, Health 

Hazards and the Looming Waste Crisis 10, 12 (Dec. 2004), http://chej.org/wp-content/

uploads/Documents/PVC/bad_news_comes_in_threes.pdf (calculating, on the basis of existing 

data, that annual PVC disposal ranges up to 7.2 billion pounds, but observing that “[t]he amount 

of PVC [generated by the construction industry] may be seriously underestimated”).

194 Mulder et al., supra note 10, at 275. 195 Kielhorn et al., supra note 12, at 579.

196 See § I.B.2.a, supra. 197 Latini et al., supra note 60, at 93.

198 Frederiksen et al., supra note 97, at 906.

199 See Swan et al., supra note 15, at 1060 (“[H]umans may be more sensitive to prenatal 

phthalate exposure than rodents.”). 

200 See Shanna H. Swan et al., The Question of Declining Sperm Density Revisited: An Analysis 

of 101 Studies Published 1934-1996, 108 ENVTL. HEALTH PERSP. 961, 964 (2000); see also 

Fisher, supra note 96, at 306 (reporting that 48 percent of young Danish men reporting for 

military service between 1996 and 1998 exhibited sperm counts associated with impaired 

fertility, while one-quarter qualified as “abnormal,” according to World Health Organization 

guidelines).

201 Latini et al., supra note 60, at 90. 

202 Fisher, supra note 96, at 307. 
23

malformations, such as undescended testicles and displaced urethras, poor semen quality and 

testicular cancer, mirror the effects of prenatal phthalate contamination in laboratory animals,203

leading experts to conclude that “phthalate exposures could be the leading cause of reproductive 

disorders in humans.”204 Moreover, the analogous “female phthalate syndrome,” characterized 

by various reproductive tract abnormalities and reduced fecundity, is “striking[ly] similar” to the 

effects of Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome in women.205

j. Action Taken by Other Governmental Agencies or Regulatory Programs 

Based on the Health or Environmental Hazard Posed by Discarded PVC, 

Vinyl Chloride and Phthalate Plasticizers

We urge EPA to promptly 

revise its regulation of discarded PVC to prevent additional damage to public health.

Existing regulations are inadequate to manage the risks associated with the widespread 

use and improper disposal of PVC. Government officials have recognized the problem of marine 

pollution for nearly a century,206 and have implemented a variety of international agreements, 

federal legislation, and state laws to curb this growing threat.207 In the four decades since 

researchers first reported the presence of plastic litter in the oceans, however, these measures 

have proven insufficient to prevent the further contamination of the marine environment.208 For 

example, although the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 

commonly known as MARPOL, explicitly prohibits vessels from dumping plastic waste at 

sea,209 “large amounts of [illegally-discharged] plastic continue to wash ashore, obstruct 

navigation, and entangle marine life,”210 including endangered Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus 

schauinslandi).211

 203 Howdeshell et al., supra note 101, at 168; see also Frederiksen et al., supra note 97, at 899, 

905.

 In addition to suffering from inadequate enforcement, MARPOL and other 

204 Latini et al., supra note 60, at 90.

205 Bethany R. Hannas et al., In Utero Phthalate Effects in the Female Rat: A Mode for MRKH 

Syndrome, 223 TOXICOLOGY LETTERS 315, 320 (2013).

206 See Daud Hassan, International Conventions Relating to Land-Based Sources of Marine 

Pollution Control: Applications and Shortcomings, 16 GEO. INT’L ENVTL. L. REV. 657, 660 n.19 

(2004) (reporting that expserts from thirteen maritime powers, including the United States, met 

in June 1926 to discuss measures to prevent ocean-going vessels from contaminating the marine 

environment).

207 See generally Grant A. Harse, Plastic, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and International 

Misfires at a Cure, 29 UCLA J. ENVTL. L. & POL’Y 331, 344-353 (2011) (reviewing international 

agreements and federal laws pertaining to problem of marine plastic pollution, and observing that 

“for all of these, plastics continue to reach our oceans”). 

208 See, e.g., Barnes, supra note 5, at 1985 (observing that “the ubiquity and abundance of plastic 

debris ... is still growing and even if stopped immediately will persist for centuries”).

209 See Sally Ann Lentz, Plastics in the Marine Environment: Legal Approaches for 

International Action, 18 MARINE POLLUTION BULL.N 361, 362 (1987).

210 Recordkeeping of Refuse Discharges from Ships, 59 Fed. Reg. 18,700, 18,700 (Apr. 19, 

1994).

211 See John R. Henderson, A Pre- and Post-MARPOL Annex V Summary of Hawaiian Monk Sea 

Entanglements and Marine Debris Accumulation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 1982-

1998, 42 MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 584, 587, 588 (2001) (observing that the amount of plastic 
24

existing legal regimes fail to address the major source of plastic pollution. Specifically, 

according to data collected by the National Marine Debris Monitoring Program, as much as 82 

percent of shoreline litter may result from activities on land that fall outside the scope of 

international conventions, including plastics manufacturing and improper waste management.212

In 2008, Congress restricted the use of certain phthalates in children’s toys and childcare 

articles, and mandated further testing to ascertain the risks associated with human exposure to 

these substances.

 

213 Legislators have enacted similar provisions in California,214 Vermont215 and 

Washington.216 In addition, several state and federal agencies have sought to limit levels of 

these compounds in the environment.217

 

debris washing ashore in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands “show[ed] no sign of diminishing” 

between 1982 and 1998, “despite implementation of MARPOL Annex V in 1989,” and reporting 

that “Hawaiian monk seals continue to become entangled in marine debris”); see also 50 C.F.R. 

§ 17.11 (listing M. schauinslandi as endangered under the ESA).

 However, as this petition describes, the current 

regulatory scheme is wholly inadequate to prevent the harm likely to result from the continued 

212 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, supra note 183, at 19-20; but see Michael 

J. Bean, Legal Strategies for Reducing Persistent Plastics in the Marine Environment, 18 

MARINE POLLUTION BULL. 357, 357 (1987) (estimating that 90 percent “of the total pollution 

entering the oceans ... enters from land-based sources via rivers, estuaries and other avenues”).

213 See 15 U.S.C. § 2057c (mandating, inter alia, that “it shall be unlawful for any person to 

manufacture for sale, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any children’s toy 

or child car article that contains concentrations of more than 0.1 percent of [DEHP, DBP, or 

BBP]”). Controls intended to reduce exposure among children also exist in Argentina, Fiji, 

Japan and Mexico, as well as throughout the European Union. Rachael Rawlins, Teething on 

Toxins: In Search of Regulatory Solutions for Toys and Cosmetics, 20 FORDHAM ENVTL. LAW 

REV. 1, 5 (2009) (noting the existence of relevant laws in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, 

Germany, Greece, Norway and Sweden). In addition, Germany, Spain and Sweden have enacted 

broader bans on the use and disposal of PVC. See PVC Policies Across the World, CTR. FOR 

HEALTH, ENV’T & JUSTICE, http://www.chej.org/pvcfactsheets/PVC_Policies_Around_The_

World.html (last visited Apr. 7, 2014).

214 CAL. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE §108935-39 (restricting the manufacture, sale and distribution 

of certain toys and child care articles containing more than 0.1 percent of DEHP, DBP, BBP, 

DINP, DIDP, or DnOP).

215 VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 18, § 1511 (restricting the manufacture, sale and distribution of certain 

toys and child care articles containing more than 0.1 percent of DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, 

or DnOP).

216 WASH. REV. CODE § 70.240.020(1)(c) (restricting the manufacture, sale and distribution of 

“children’s product[s] or product component[s]” containing, inter alia, “[p]hthalates, 

individually or in combination, at more than 0.10 percent by weight (one thousand parts per 

million)”). 217 See, e.g., 40 C.F.R. pt. 132 (requiring Great Lakes States and Tribes to adopt, inter alia, 

provisions sufficient to protect local wildlife from “bioaccumulative chemicals of concern,” 

including six phthalate plasticizers); see also CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 27, § 25805 (prohibiting 

businesses from knowingly discharging “chemicals causing reproductive toxicity,” including five 

phthalate plasticizers, into any source of drinking water). 
25

widespread use and improper disposal of PVC.

, and exposure to vinyl chloride “remains a cause 

for concern.”

218 Phthalate contamination is now ubiquitous 

among the population of industrialized nations

220 According to a 2005 study, one-quarter of U.S. women exhibit concentrations 

of phthalate metabolites higher than those correlated with irregular sexual development in male 

infants,

221 and evidence indicates that contamination might be even more prevalent among 

pregnant women in urban settings.222

k. Other Appropriate Factors

To protect the next generation and preserve the marine 

environment, EPA must promptly take action to manage discarded PVC as hazardous waste. 

As this petition explains, a considerable body of scientific research implicates discarded 

PVC, vinyl chloride and associated phthalate plasticizers in a range of threats to human health 

and the environment. Moreover, recent research indicates that exposure pathways “outside the 

scope of traditional toxicity testing” might result in additional harm.

or to a single phthalate mixed

223 For example, low doses 

of phthalates and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals often produce health effects different 

from or more severe than those associated with higher concentrations.224 Simultaneous exposure 

to multiple phthalates with other environmental pollutants, might 

elicit a synergistic response.226 In addition, the recent discovery of additional phthalate 

metabolites indicates that human exposure probably exceeds previously published estimates.228 

Because the majority of chemical compounds used in PVC production remain untested, existing 

toxicity data likely underestimate risks arising from the improper disposal of discarded PVC.229

 218 In addition to ignoring significant sources of human and environmental exposure to phthalate 

plasticizers, existing laws may suffer from inadequate enforcement. See, e.g., Margaret H. 

Lemos, State Enforcement of Federal Law, 86 N.Y.U.L. REV. 698, 738 (2011) (explaining that 

federal phthalate restrictions “allow[] states to influence policy by adjusting the intensity of 

enforcement and hence the degree to which manufacturers are deterred from using phthalates,” 

and observing that an elected attorney general from a “conservative” state might have little 

incentive to take action in the consumer protection field). 

220 Wormuth et al., supra note 176, at 803; Kielhorn et al., supra note 12, at 579.

221 Swan et al., supra note 15, at 1056.

222 Adibi et al., supra note 16, at 1722 (reporting that pregnant women in New York City “appear 

to be exposed [to phthalates] at levels above background levels in the United States, which may 

have implications for their pregnancy and/or the fetus”).

223 Heather J. Hamlin, Embryos as Targets of Endocrine Disrupting Contaminants in Wildlife, 93 

BIRTH DEFECTS RES. PART C: EMBRYO TODAY: REV. 19, 23 (2011).

224 Id. at 21, 25.

226 Mankidy et al., supra note 144, at 56; Hamlin et al., supra note 223, at 25; Howdeshell et al., 

supra note 101, at 175; see also Jobling et al., supra note 142, at 586 (noting that scientific 

literature suggests that “measuring the total estrogenic burden due to environmental 

contaminants may have more relevance than assessing exposure by measuring levels of 

individual estrogens alone,” because “environmental estrogens may act cumulatively”).

228 Frederiksen et al., supra note 97, at 902-03, 906.

229 Stern et al., supra note 13, at 774.
26

II. The Toxic Substances Control Act

A. Statutory Background

In 1976, Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 

2601 et seq., “to assure that ... innovation and commerce in ... chemical substances and 

mixtures do not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.”230 

Accordingly, lawmakers required manufacturers and processors to develop “adequate data” 

concerning the effects of these compounds, and granted the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (“EPA”) “authority ... to regulate [those] chemical substances and mixtures which 

present an unreasonable risk.”231

Pursuant to section 6 of TSCA, EPA “shall” regulate a chemical substance if “there is a 

reasonable basis to conclude” that the compound “presents or will present an unreasonable risk 

of injury to health or the environment.”

 

232 Permissible regulations include requirements 

prohibiting or “limiting the amount of such substance ... which may be manufactured, processed, 

or distributed in commerce.”233

(A)the effects of such substance or mixture on health and the magnitude of the exposure 

of human beings to such substance or mixture,

 In assessing risk, EPA must consider:

(B) the effects of such substance or mixture on the environment and the magnitude of the 

exposure of the environment to such substance or mixture,

(C) the benefits of such substance or mixture for various uses and the availability of 

substitutes for such uses, and

(D)the reasonably ascertainable economic consequences of the rule, after consideration 

of the effect on the national economy, small business, technological innovation, the 

environment, and public health.234

Factual certainty is not required; instead, the agency may “base its action on scientific theories, 

consideration of projections from available data, modeling using reasonable assumptions, and 

extrapolations from limited data.”235 Even if EPA determines that another federal law “could 

[sufficiently] eliminate[] or reduce[]” the risk associated with a particular chemical substance, 

the agency may elect to regulate the substance under TSCA, provided that a “comparison of the 

estimated costs” and “relative efficiency” reveals that such action promotes the public interest.236

In the event that EPA lacks adequate data and experience upon which to determine the 

health and environmental risks associated with a particular chemical substance, the agency “shall

 

 230 15 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(3) (2012). Within the meaning of TSCA, the term “chemical substance” 

includes “any organic or inorganic substance of a particular molecular identity.” Id. § 2602(2). 231 Id. § 2601(b)(1) & (2).

232 Id. § 2605(a) (emphasis added).

233 Id. § 2605(a)(1)(B).

234 Id. § 2605(c).

235 Lead Fishing Sinkers; Response to Citizens’ Petition and Proposed Ban, 59 Fed. Reg. 11,122, 

11,138 (Mar. 9, 1994) (citing H.R. Rep. No. 1341, 9th Cong., 2d Sess. 32 (1976)).

236 Id.
27

by rule require that testing be conducted on such substance.”237 Specifically, under 15 U.S.C. § 

2603, EPA may compel manufacturers and processors to evaluate the safety of substances that 

“may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment” or that “[are] or will 

be produced in substantial quantities” and, thus, “may reasonably be anticipated to enter the 

environment in substantial quantities” or result in “significant or substantial human exposure.”238

B. Vinyl Chloride and Phthalate Plasticizers Pose an Unreasonable Risk of Harm to 

Human Health and the Environment 

 

Although Congress did not define the phrase “unreasonable risk,” EPA has interpreted 

relevant legislative history to require that the agency: 

balance the benefits derived from risk reduction against the social and economic 

costs incurred, taking into account such factors as the extent and magnitude of 

risk posed; the societal consequences of removing or restricting use of products; 

availability and potential hazards of substitutes; and impacts on industry, 

employment, and international trade.239

No specific factual determination is necessary to establish “unreasonable risk.” For 

example, even under the stricter standard of 15 U.S.C. § 2606, EPA need not present 

evidence of actual injury before obtaining emergency injunctive relief to control 

“immanently hazardous chemical substance[s] or mixture[s].”

 

240

A growing body of scientific evidence clearly shows that the inadequate management of 

PVC, vinyl chloride and phthalate plasticizers poses significant threats to human and ecosystem 

health. As a result of their widespread use, significant tendency to migrate, and resistance to 

degradation, phthalates are the most abundant anthropogenic chemicals in the environment,241

contaminating even freshly fallen snow.242 Once dissociated from PVC, these compounds

accumulate in the tissues of aquatic and terrestrial organisms,243 interfering with hormone 

regulation and altering sexual development in laboratory animals and human beings.244

Moreover, recent research indicates that human contamination probably exceeds previously 

published estimates,245 and exposure pathways “outside the scope of traditional toxicity testing” 

might result in additional harm.246 For example, simultaneous exposure to multiple 

phthalates,247

 237 15 U.S.C. § 2603 (emphasis added).

or to a single phthalate mixed with other environmental pollutants, likely elicits a 

238 Id.

239 Guidance for Petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency Under Section 21 of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act, 50 Fed. Reg. 46,825, *2 (Nov. 13, 1985).

240 See H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 94-1679 78 (1976).

241 Jobling et al., supra note 142, at 585. 242 Horn et al., supra note 150, at 3695.

243 See §§ I.B.2.f, supra. 244 Latini et al., supra note 60, at 93.

245 Frederiksen et al., supra note 97, at 902-03, 906.

246 Hamlin, supra note 223, at 23.

247 Mankidy et al., supra note 144, at 56.
28

synergistic response.248 Experts suspect that virtually universal exposure to phthalate plasticizers 

“could be the leading cause of reproductive disorders in humans” and vinyl chloride also

“remains a cause for concern.”249 Despite the availability of less harmful alternatives,250 the 

PVC industry consumes over 32 billion pounds of these toxic chemicals each year.251

We urge EPA to promptly initiate rulemaking under 15 U.S.C. § 2605 to reduce the 

unreasonable risk to public health and the environment associated with continued dependence on 

PVC, vinyl chloride and phthalate plasticizers. In the event that the agency concludes that there 

are insufficient data and experience upon which to determine or predict the effects of ubiquitous 

contamination, we alternatively request that the agency adopt a rule under section 4 of the Act, 

15 U.S.C. § 2603, requiring manufacturers and processors responsible for the generation of these 

compounds to undertake additional toxicity testing. 

 

CONCLUSION

As this petition explains, inadequate management strategies have permitted substantial 

quantities of discarded PVC to accumulate in the marine environment, contributing to a broad 

array of social, economic and environmental harms. Conventional landfill disposal practices also 

fail to contain vinyl chloride and plastic additives, including designated toxic constituents, which 

easily migrate from discarded PVC and ultimately infiltrate aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. 

The environmental persistence of these chemicals, combined with the massive rate of PVC 

production, has resulted in nearly universal human exposure, raising concerns about a range of 

associated health problems, including birth defects, cancers and diabetes.

Discarded PVC satisfies the statutory definition of “hazardous waste.” After disposal, 

this material necessarily qualifies as potentially hazardous “solid waste.” Moreover, because 

PVC typically contains substantial concentrations of toxic constituents, the improper disposal of 

this material poses a substantial present and future threat to human health and the environment. 

The analysis of EPA’s regulatory criteria set forth in detail above supports the listing of

discarded PVC as hazardous waste, and demonstrates that continued widespread use of PVC, 

vinyl chloride and phthalate plasticizers poses an unreasonable risk to human health and the 

environment. Immediate action is necessary to reduce the need for future corrective action and 

prevent additional harm. Accordingly, we urge EPA to promptly exercise its authority to ensure 

the safe disposal of discarded PVC.

 248 Hamlin et al., supra note 223. 249 Latini et al., supra note 60, at 90; Kielhorn et al., supra note 12, at 579.

250 Kastner et al., supra note 69, at 363. 251 Brandt-Rauf et al., supra note 70, at 2; Chatterjee et al., supra note 71, at 62; Lithner et al., 

supra note 71, at 1199.