The Environmental Protection Agency has moved to ban two chemicals commonly used in everyday products, such as dry-cleaning materials, that have been found to cause cancer and a number of other life-changing diseases.
The agency finalized rules ordering the ban Monday, aligning with President Joe Biden’s “cancer moonshot” whole-of-government initiative to fund cancer research and dramatically lower cancer death rates across the United States.
Under the final rules, the EPA has banned all use of a chemical called trichloroethylene (TCE), which is known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, and damage to the central nervous systems, reproductive organs, and more.
The chemical is a solvent commonly used in everyday products for furniture care, cleaning, or crafts, such as paints, sealants, degreasers, and more.
All uses of TCE will be banned over time, with most restrictions going into effect within one year, according to the EPA. Only a select few uses of TCE will be allowed to phase out after one year, such as for products used to clean aircraft, manufacturing security and defense systems, and battery separators. The EPA has said this extended phase-out will help avoid “impacts to national security or critical infrastructure.”
The finalized rule also bans the commercial and consumer use of perchloroethylene (PCE). This toxic chemical is also known to cause liver, kidney, brain, and testicular cancer while also damaging the immune system, kidneys, livers, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity.
PCE is widely used in products such as brake cleaners and adhesives and is commonly used in dry cleaning. The rule orders this use of PCE to be phased out over 10 years. Newly purchased dry-cleaning machines that use PCD will be banned after just six months. Most workplaces are expected to have fully ended their use of PCE in less than three years, the agency estimated.
The chemical will still be allowed to be used in certain settings that the EPA has said may be critical for aviation, infrastructure, and national security. This includes petrochemical manufacturing, chemical milling, energized electrical cleaning, agricultural chemical manufacturing, and more.
“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,” Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff said in a statement. “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.”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) praised the finalized rules Monday, saying the ban would “no doubt” save the lives of workers, children, and others nationwide.
“With no doubt that these chemicals are deadly, there is no doubt that this final rule will save lives—especially our children’s lives — around the country,” Markey said.
The finalized rule comes as the incoming Trump administration is expected to overhaul a number of previously approved EPA rules and regulations, as many Republicans have accused the agency of overreach.
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However, President-elect Donald Trump may have difficulty rolling back this particular ban.
“They’re going to encounter serious opposition from communities across the country that have been devastated by TCE, in both blue and red states,” Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, told the New York Times.