On June 8, 2023, the EPA proposed a rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ban most uses of perchloroethylene (PCE), a chemical known to cause serious health risks such as neurotoxicity and cancer. The proposed rule bans all consumer uses of the chemical while allowing for many industrial/commercial uses to continue only where strict workplace controls can be implemented, including uses related to national security, aviation and other critical infrastructure, and the Agency’s efforts to combat the climate crisis.
“We know that exposure to PCE is dangerous for people’s health, and today’s rule is an important first step to keeping communities and workers safe,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in an Agency news release. “We’ve proposed to ban the uses we know can’t continue safely, and we’ve made sure that stringent controls are in place to protect workers for the uses that remain.”
PCE is a solvent that’s widely used in consumer products like brake cleaners and adhesives, in commercial applications such as dry cleaning, and in many industrial settings. For example, PCE is used as a chemical intermediate in the production of two chemical substances regulated under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. This rule proposes to allow for continued processing of PCE to manufacture hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-125 and HFC-134a in tandem with strict workplace controls, as the two can be mixed with other substances to make more climate-friendly refrigerants. Additionally, the rule proposes to continue to allow the industrial and commercial use of PCE in petrochemical manufacturing, the manufacture of coatings for aircraft skins, and vapor degreasing to make aerospace parts and engines.
“[The] EPA determined that PCE presents unreasonable risk to health, driven by risks associated with exposure to the chemical by workers, occupational non-users (workers nearby but not in direct contact with this chemical), consumers, and those in close proximity to a consumer use,” the EPA news release adds. “EPA identified risks for adverse human health effects, including neurotoxicity from inhalation and dermal exposures as well as cancer effects from chronic inhalation exposure. While EPA identified potential risks to fenceline communities in a small number of instances, the prohibitions and other requirements in EPA’s proposed rule are expected to mitigate to a great extent the potential risks to the neighboring communities.”
The EPA’s proposed risk management rule would rapidly phase down manufacturing, processing, and distribution of PCE for all consumer uses and many industrial and commercial uses, most of which would be fully phased out in 24 months. The uses subject to the proposed prohibitions represent less than 20 percent of the annual production volume of PCE. For most of the uses of PCE the EPA is proposing to prohibit, the EPA’s analysis also found that alternative products with similar costs and efficacy to PCE are reasonably available.
The proposed rule includes a 10-year phaseout for the use of PCE in dry cleaning, with compliance dates depending on the type of machine PCE is used in. The proposed phaseout of PCE in dry cleaning would eliminate unreasonable risk for people who work at or spend considerable time at dry-cleaning facilities. This phaseout period would provide dry cleaners with time to transition to an alternative process, and stakeholders have already noted an overall year-to-year decline in the use of PCE in dry cleaning.
“In addition, President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget request proposed funding for new pollution prevention grants that would support small businesses with transitioning to TSCA compliant practices and mitigate economic impacts. If implemented, these grants could be used to support small businesses like dry cleaners in their transition away from PCE.
“For the industrial manufacturing, industrial processing and other uses of PCE that EPA is not proposing to prohibit, EPA is proposing a workplace chemical protection program with a strict inhalation exposure limit and requirements to prevent skin exposure to ensure protection for workers. EPA has received data from industry that indicate many workplaces already have controls in place that may reduce exposures sufficient to meet the inhalation exposure limit in the proposed rule or to prevent direct skin contact with PCE.”
Comments will be accepted on the proposed rule until July 17, 2023, on the Federal eRulemaking platform under Docket #EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0720.
According to the Agency news release, the EPA is especially interested in hearing perspectives on the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed requirements for worker protections from entities that would be required to implement the proposed program and the timeline for the phaseout of PCE use in dry cleaning.