NGOs Challenge EPA Approval Of Two New Chemicals For Use In The Manufacture Of Semiconductors

On August 14, 2026, Earthjustice announced that two non-governmental organizations (NGO) filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of two new chemicals for use in the manufacturing of semiconductors. CHIPS Communities United and Sierra Club seek review of two Consent Orders issued under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authorizing the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, and disposal of the new chemical substances identified as premanufacture notice (PMN) numbers P-26-0045 and P-26-0029. According to Earthjustice, EPA “approved the chemicals for immediate use despite identifying the potential for serious health risks, including cancer, neurological harm, and even sudden death.” Earthjustice states that “EPA admits that it does not know the full extent of those risks, claiming that it lacked the information needed to calculate them.”

According to the Consent Orders appended to the petitions for review, the signatory Companies will refrain from manufacturing the PMN substances beyond the time limits specified in the Testing section of the Consent Order unless the Company or the Semiconductor Photoacid Generator (PAG) Consortium (Consortium) submits to EPA the results of certain testing (i.e., final report and underlying data). The Consent Orders state that the time limits may be extended upon request with written approval from EPA. The Consortium “is a finite group of chemical manufacturers (including importers) that supply [PAG] substances for use in certain applications in semiconductor manufacturing operations, and those entities that acquire and use those substances in semiconductor manufacturing processes.”