The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the latest risk management rules for trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) under the bipartisan 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amendments, marking another major milestone for chemical safety after decades of inadequate protections and serious delays.
TCE is used as a solvent in consumer and commercial products such as cleaning and furniture care products, degreasers, brake cleaners, sealants, lubricants, adhesives, paints and coatings, arts and crafts spray coatings, and is also used in the manufacturing of some refrigerants. PCE is a solvent that is widely used for consumer uses such as brake cleaners and adhesives, in commercial applications such as dry cleaning, and in many industrial settings.
Safer alternatives are readily available for the majority of these uses.
“It’s simply unacceptable to continue to allow cancer-causing chemicals to be used for things like glue, dry cleaning, or stain removers when safer alternatives exist,” said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “These rules are grounded in the best-available science that demonstrates the harmful impacts of PCE and TCE. EPA continues to deliver on actions that protect people, including workers and children, under the nation’s premier bipartisan chemical safety law.”
TCE is an extremely toxic chemical causing damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, reproductive organs, and fetal heart defects. These risks are present even at very small concentrations. Under the new rule, all uses of TCE will be banned over time (with the vast majority of identified risks eliminated within one year).
PCE is known to cause liver, kidney, brain and testicular cancer, as well as damage to the kidney, liver and immune system, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. The new rule will better protect people from these risks by banning manufacturing, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer uses and many commercial uses, while allowing some workplace uses to continue only where robust workplace controls can be implemented.
In response to public comments on the proposed rule, most workplaces now have 30 months instead of 12 months to fully implement a Workplace Chemical Protection Program. The EPA also revised several other aspects from the proposal to strengthen and clarify aspects of the Workplace Chemical Protection Program, including monitoring requirements. The EPA also ensured the employees’ designated representatives, such as labour union representatives, have access to occupational exposure monitoring and records.
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