EPA bans two cancer-causing chemicals used in everyday products. (Washington Post)
Excerpt from this Washington Post story:
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday banned two known carcinogens used in a variety of consumer products and industrial settings that can seep into the environment through the soil and waterways.
The new rules, which underscore President Joe Biden’s efforts to enact key protections against harmful chemicals before leaving office, include the complete ban of trichloroethylene — also known as TCE — a substance found in degreasing agents, furniture care and auto repair products. The agency also banned all consumer uses and many commercial uses of perc — also known as perchloroethylene and PCE — an industrial solvent long used in applications such as dry cleaning and auto repair.
“Both of these chemicals have caused too much harm for too long, despite the existence of safer alternatives,” said Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, a senior attorney at Earthjustice.
The EPA conducted risk analyses last year and found that both substances present unreasonable risk of injury to human health or the environment.
According to the EPA, perc is toxic to the nervous system and the reproductive system and is a persistent environmental pollutant. Multiple organizations — including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the International Agency for Research on Cancer — have classified the chemical as a probable human carcinogen. Perc can also biodegrade into TCE.
Meanwhile, TCE is associated with numerous cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, and kidney and liver cancer, and is toxic to the nervous, immune and reproductive systems, even at low levels of exposure.
