WASHINGTON. Dichloromethane poses an “unreasonable” risk to workers under certain circumstances, and the EPA will take action to “identify and apply control measures.”
In a Federal Register notice, the Environmental Protection Agency noted that dichloromethane, the finished chemical that NIOSH said killed several bathtub repairers, was harmful to the public in 52 of 53 conditions of use. create an unreasonable risk of harm, including:
Dichloromethane is one of the first 10 chemicals to be assessed for potential health and environmental risks under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st century. The risk determination follows a revised draft final risk assessment published in the Federal Register on July 5, in line with the EPA’s June 2021 announcement to change certain aspects of the Lautenberg Act process to ensure that “the public is protected from undue harm.” » against risks from chemicals in a scientifically and legally sound manner. “
Appropriate actions include using a “whole substance” approach to identify unreasonable risk rather than based on individual conditions of use, and revisiting the assumption that workers are always provided with and wear PPE correctly when determining risk.
The EPA has stated that while workplace safety “may exist”, it does not suggest that the use of PPE covers the agency’s assumption that different subgroups of workers may be at risk of accelerated exposure to methylene chloride when:
The agency’s possible regulatory options include “prohibitions or requirements restricting the manufacture, processing, commercial distribution, commercial use, or disposal of the chemical, as appropriate.”
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