EPA Bans Cancer-Causing Chemicals Commonly Used in Cleaning Products

The clothes you drop off at the dry cleaner are going to be treated a little differently now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has banned two chemicals commonly used to remove stains.

The EPA said Monday it finalized risk management rules for trichlorethylene (TCE) and perchlorethylene (PCE), which are believed to cause cancer, as part of the 2016 bipartisan amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Under the new rules, TCE will be completely banned over time, while PCE will be largely banned in commercial manufacturing, processing and distribution.

Even in very small amounts, TCE is “an extremely toxic chemical known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma” and “damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, systemic immune system, reproductive organs and fetal heart defects. “, the EPA said.

It is used in cleaning products, commercial furniture cleaning, degreasers, brake cleaners, sealants, lubricants, adhesives and more.

The new EPA rules would ban all use of TCE within one year, the guidelines say.

According to the EPA, PCE causes “liver, kidney, brain, and testicular cancer, as well as kidney, liver, and immune system damage, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity.”

The chemical is widely used in brake cleaners and adhesives, dry cleaning, and other industrial settings.

PCE will be phased out over 10 years in dry cleaning establishments, but it will be banned in newly acquired dry cleaning equipment after six months.

Some industries and workplaces will still be allowed to use this chemical under strict controls, such as its laboratory use for asphalt testing and recovery, refrigerant manufacturing, and vapor degreasing.

Both PCE and TCE are nonflammable chlorinated solvents that are volatile organic compounds and are often used as alternatives to each other, the EPA said.

The agency said there are already widely available safer alternatives for both chemicals.

A number of people have supported efforts to ban these chemicals.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said a mother in his district approached him about the issue more than 40 years ago, after losing her son to cancer caused by food products. toxic chemicals.

“There is no doubt that these chemicals are deadly, there is no doubt that this final rule will save lives, especially those of our children, across the country,” Markey said in a statement following the announcement of the EPA.

Toxic chemicals have also been found in contaminated drinking water which was provided to service members stationed at Camp Lejeune, a United States Marine Corps base in North Carolina, between 1975 and 1985.

“My daughter, Janey, was conceived aboard Camp Lejeune during contaminated drinking water and died of leukemia in 1985 at the age of nine. I began my fight for justice in 1997 , then I was joined by Mike Partain in 2007, who was also conceived aboard the base and diagnosed with male breast cancer at the age of 39,” Jerry said Mr. Ensminger, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant, in a statement. “Mike and I welcome this EPA ban on TCE and it is proof that our fight for justice at Camp Lejeune was not in vain.”