Briefs

EPA bans cancer-causing solvents used in dry cleaning and automotive care products

December 9, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Share this:

NATIONWIDE — THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, in a move that environmentalists and healthcare professionals sought, banned two cancer-causing solvents that are widely used in dry cleaning and also found in everyday products, the New York Times reported. On Monday, Dec. 9, the EPA announced a ban on all uses of the chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, that is used in cleaners, spot removers, lubricants and glue. TCE causes liver cancer, kidney cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and can damage the nervous and immune systems.

The EPA also banned all consumer uses of perchloroethylene (perc), used in dry-cleaning and automotive-care products, because it also causes certain cancers and damages the immune system. The perc ban still allows for a range of industrial uses, including in aviation and defense, but only under strict rules. Both bans were initially proposed in 2023. Dry cleaners have already denounced the ban on the grounds that it will cause them hardship, a point that Dr. Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator in the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, has refuted on the grounds that safer alternatives are available.

The new ban could potentially be blocked after President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power, even though he has stated dual plans: rolling back EPA restrictions and being committed to “getting dangerous chemicals out of our environment.”

✰✰✰