EPA Final Rule Banning Perchloroethylene Goes Into Effect Next Month
An EPA final rule that becomes effective Jan. 17 will restrict and eventually ban the use of perchloroethylene (PCE), a chemical solvent often used in dry cleaning and degreasing, due to the "unreasonable risk of injury to health" when using the substance, it said in a Federal Register notice.
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The rule will restrict the industrial and commercial use of the chemical while also allowing a transition period as well as time-limited exemptions for critical or essential use of PCE where there are no technically and economically feasible safer alternatives.
Given the widespread usage of PCE, EPA said it will hold a public webinar Jan. 15 to explain the new final rule and its implementation.
"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," EPA said on Dec. 9. The final rule "will better protect people from these risks by banning manufacture, 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."
The new restrictions include a 10-year phaseout for the use of PCE in dry cleaning and a phase-down in the manufacturing, processing and distribution of PCE in consumer, industrial and commercial settings, "most of which will be fully phased out in less than three years. For most of the uses of PCE that the agency is prohibiting, its analysis found that alternative products with similar costs and efficacy to PCE are reasonably available," EPA said in a recent news release.
The agency noted that entities that import or export the substance in bulk form or as part of a mixture or article will be subject to certification requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Entities that manufacture, import or distribute PCE for uses that aren't prohibited under this final rule must maintain business records, such as invoices and bills-of-lading, that demonstrate compliance with the regulation. These records must be kept for five years from the date that the record is generated. This requirement will go into effect on Feb. 18. Importers and manufacturers will also have to provide downstream notification of prohibitions via safety data sheets "to spread awareness throughout the supply chain of the restrictions" on the solvent.
Affected industries range from oil and gas operations and crude petroleum extraction to window and door manufacturing and paper bag manufacturing. Other potentially affected industries include plastics and resin manufacturing, soap and detergent manufacturing, cement and metal manufacturing, grain and field bean merchant wholesalers, new and used car dealers, doll and toy manufacturing, sporting goods stores, and automotive manufacturing and repair.