Environmental Groups Challenge EPA Approval of High-Risk Datacenter Chemicals

Environmental group Earthjustice has sued the Environmental Protection Agency over the approval of two chemicals intended for import and immediate use at facilities across the United States, according to The Guardian. The compounds are photoacid generators, substances used in semiconductor manufacturing to help create circuit patterns on silicon wafers. They also appear to be per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, although extensive redactions in the EPA’s approval documents make that classification uncertain. The lawsuit argues that the agency approved the chemicals despite acknowledging that they could pose an “unreasonable risk” to workers, the public, wildlife and the environment. EPA documents reviewed by The Guardian reportedly identify possible effects including acute toxicity, genetic damage, reproductive and developmental harm, neurological damage, skin and respiratory irritation, eye corrosion and cancer-related risks. One approval document reportedly says exposure could result in acute lethality, or sudden death. The agency nevertheless stated that it lacked sufficient information to determine the level at which that harm, as well as several other risks, could occur. It also said it could not estimate the environmental hazard posed by at least one of the substances because of missing data. Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, an Earthjustice attorney, said the approvals conflict with the Toxic Substances Control Act, which requires the EPA to restrict a chemical when it presents an unreasonable risk. He argued that the measures imposed by the agency—including limits on container size but not the total volume imported—would provide little protection. The redacted documents do not establish whether the chemicals were approved through a process accelerated under a late-2025 executive order aimed at speeding approval of substances used by datacenters. The manufacturer’s name is also concealed. PFAS are widely described as “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down and can accumulate in people and the environment. Semiconductor manufacturing can involve PFAS in numerous stages, with some compounds discharged in wastewater or otherwise discarded. The Guardian previously reviewed testing from one US semiconductor plant that found PFAS concentrations as high as 78,000 parts per trillion in some wastewater samples; the EPA drinking-water limit for several common PFAS compounds is 4 parts per trillion. The EPA had not immediately responded to The Guardian’s request for comment. Industry representatives have said that safer substitutes are impossible to find in some manufacturing applications, while environmental advocates are seeking enforceable controls on chemical discharges.