EPA Restricts Use of Two Chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the use of two chemicals, trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE or perc), will be restricted to help protect the health of workers and product consumers with exposure risk under amendments to the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act.

Under the EPA order, most uses of TCE will be banned within a year. In certain workplaces, use will be phased out over a longer period of time with stringent employee protection measures in place. Restrictions on the use of PCE will extend to the manufacture, processing, and distribution of products for consumer use. Selected industrial uses will be allowed with workplace exposure risk controls.

TCE is used as a solvent in consumer and commercial furniture care products, degreasers, brake cleaners, sealants, lubricants, adhesives, paints and coatings, and arts and crafts spray coatings. It is also used in the manufacture of some refrigerants. Perc is a solvent used for dry cleaning, in brake cleaners and adhesives, and in numerous other industrial processes. According to the EPA, safer alternatives are available for most uses of TCE and perc.

Exposure to TCE is known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Even in small concentrations it can damage the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, and reproductive organs, and cause fetal heart defects. PCE is known to cause liver, kidney, brain and testicular cancer, damage to the kidney, liver, and immune system, and neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity.

Industry groups such as the American Chemistry Council have criticized the restrictions, citing far-reaching impacts on various industries and the national economy. The Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute and the National Cleaners Association said in comments submitted to the EPA that “any future decision to reduce or phase out the use of perc in dry-cleaning will put an oppressive burden on thousands of cleaners.”