EPA’s SOCMI Rule Faces Industry Suits Over Chloroprene, Other Mandates

EPA’s new air rule governing organic chemical and polymer manufacturing plants appears likely to face a series of industry challenges, with Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE), the nation’s only synthetic rubber manufacturer, vowing to challenge its chloroprene provisions while also joining with ethylene oxide (EtO) and other manufacturers in challenging its substantive requirements. A DPE spokesman tells Inside EPA the company “vehemently opposes” provisions that impose a 90-day deadline to comply with the rule’s control and monitoring requirements for chloroprene,...