Toxic-Free Futures works to promote the use of safer products, chemicals and practices for a healthier future through cutting-edge research, advocacy, grassroots organizing and consumer engagement.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, EPA Assistant Administrator Michael Friedhoff proposed a final rule to manage the “unreasonable risks” identified in the EPA’s assessment of methylene chloride under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This rule would ban all consumer and most commercial and industrial uses of methylene chloride, except for certain federal agencies and manufacturers. The proposed rule is the second final action proposed for an “existing” chemical under the reformed TSCA, following the EPA’s chrysotile asbestos rule. The 60-day comment period will begin after the rule is printed in the Federal Register.
The proposed rule prohibits all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses of chemicals, including degreasers, stain removers, and paint and coating removers, and proposes two time-limited exemptions for essential uses to meet workplace protection requirements. Toxic-Free Futures welcomed the proposal while calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to act quickly to finalize the rule and extend its protections to all workers.
”Too many families have suffered too much tragedy from this chemical; too many jobs have been harmed by it. While the EPA rules are not a success, they go a long way toward eliminating methylene chloride from workplaces and in homes. Significant progress has been made,” said Liz Hitchcock, director of Safe Chemicals for Healthy Families at the federal Toxic Future Policy Initiative. “About seven years ago, Congress updated TSCA to allow the EPA to such measures for known chemical hazards. This rule will significantly reduce the use of this highly toxic chemical,” she continued.
“For too long, methylene chloride has robbed American workers of their health while robbing them of their paint and grease. The EPA’s new rule will accelerate the development of safer chemicals and safer practices while getting the job done,” Charlotte told the Blue-Green Alliance. Brody, Vice President of Occupational and Environmental Health.
“Five years ago, Lowe’s became the first major retailer to ban the use of methylene chloride in paint removers, starting a domino effect among the nation’s largest retailers,” said Mike, director of Mind the Store, a toxic-free product program. the future,” Schade said. “We are pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency is finally joining retailers in banning the availability of methylene chloride to consumers and workers. This important new rule will go a long way in protecting consumers and workers from exposure to this cancer-causing chemical. The Agency’s next step is to EPA’s job should be to provide brands and retailers with guidance on assessing the hazards of alternatives to ensure businesses move to truly safer solutions.”
“We celebrate this action to finally protect people from the deadly toxic chemical called methylene chloride,” said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. “But we also recognize that it has taken too long and cost too many lives.” . Any chemical that poses such a serious and long-term threat to human health should not be sold on the open market.”
“This is a great day when we can point to changes in public health and environmental regulations that will clearly save lives, especially for workers exposed to toxic chemicals,” said Cindy Luppi, director of the New England Clean Water Initiative. “The organization has mobilized its members and coalition partners and testified directly in support of this action. “We encourage Biden’s EPA to continue to take this type of direct action to reduce health burdens, prevent harm to our health, and reflect modern science “
Methylene chloride, also known as methylene chloride or DCM, is an organohalogen solvent used in paint removers and other products. It is associated with cancer, cognitive impairment and immediate death from suffocation. Acute exposure to the chemical was responsible for 85 deaths in the United States between 1985 and 2018, according to a peer-reviewed study from the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) at the University of California, San Francisco.
Since 2009, Toxic Futures and health advocates across the country have been working to strengthen federal protections against toxic chemicals. After years of advocacy by a coalition led by Toxics Free Future’s Safe Chemicals, Healthy Families initiative, the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act was signed into law in 2016, giving the Environmental Protection Agency the necessary authority to ban hazardous chemicals such as like methylene chloride. From 2017 to 2019, Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program led a national campaign to secure a commitment from more than a dozen major retailers, including Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon and others, to stop selling paint and coatings containing methylene remover. Chloride. In 2022 and 2023, Toxic-Free Futures encouraged coalition partners to comment, testify, and meet with the EPA to advocate for strong final rules.
Toxic-Free Futures is a national leader in environmental health research and advocacy. Through the power of science, education and activism, Toxic-Free Futures promotes strong legal and corporate responsibility to protect the health of all people and the planet. www.tokenfreefuture.org
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