EPA bans deadly chemicals used in paint strippers – but is a loophole for commercial operators

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday restricted the use of a toxic chemical in paints and coatings removers that has been associated with dozens of accidental deaths. But the agency halted before the total ban proposed by the Obama administration and pushed by some health advocacy groups, allowing commercial operators to continue using the chemical as much that they are trained.

Alexandra Dunn, Assistant Administrator of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said the agency had determined that methylene chloride – a controversial product that major home improvement retailers, such as Lowe's and Home Depot, have already removed from their shelves – presents "An unreasonable risk of injury."

"We have responded to the call of many affected families, to ensure that no other family suffers the death of any of its relatives because of this chemical," Dunn said. to reporters during a conference call.

The agency will seek comments over the next 60 days on the opportunity to impose new federal training requirements on commercial operators, said Dunn, to determine whether it should limit Access in these circumstances. This decision immediately attracted the attention of public health advocates and family members of those who died after being exposed to his emanations.

Wendy Hartley, whose 21-year-old son, Kevin, died two years ago, died while renovating a bathtub, even after being trained in the application of the stripper, said the new rules of administration were insufficient.

"I am deeply disappointed that the EPA has decided to weaken its proposal to ban methylene chloride," Hartley said in a statement. "Removing this deadly chemical from consumers' hands is a step in the right direction – a step that has been initiated by retailers nationwide. Workers who use methylene chloride will no longer be protected and may face health problems or death. I will continue my fight until the EPA does its work. "

Hartley, who had personally appealed in May to Scott Pruitt, then a director of the EPA, to ban the chemical, has now partnered with advocacy groups Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and Vermont Public Interest Research Group to sue the EPA in a federal court in Vermont.

However, Brian Wynne – whose brother, Drew, died in October 2017 after applying stripper on the floor of his new coffee business in North Charleston, South Carolina – said in a phone interview that this initiative was a milestone key given the current anti-regulatory regulations. Washington weather.

"You take a win when you can get a win. And in this climate, a victory is almost impossible, "said Wynne, accompanied by his parents, his brother, his wife, and his son, who joined EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler at the signing of the regulation. "It would be impossible for a person like my brother to get it now."

The EPA has proposed to outright ban methylene chloride and another lethal solvent, the NMP, on January 19, 2017, the day before President Barack Obama's departure, saying they posed "risks" unreasonable "for human health. Trump administration officials have repeatedly promised to remove methylene chloride from the market, while remaining silent about the fate of the NMP.

EPA's settlement on Friday reflects a compromise with the Pentagon, which has lobbied for a derogation given the army's widespread use of paint stripping on bases around the world. . According to the Obama administration's proposal, the Department of Defense has been granted a 10-year exemption for reasons of national security.

Manufacturers of Methylene Chloride Removers, including the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, claimed that the product was safe as long as those who used it had adequate training. In a statement released on Friday, the group said it was sorry to see the chemical gradually abandoned in the consumer market, but was "delighted" to see that the EPA would consider establishing a federal training and certification program.

"The effectiveness of methylene chloride is unmatched and has been used safely for over sixty years," the group said.

Public outrage at the potential risks of the chemical has intensified in recent years as advocates shared their stories with lawmakers and regulators about family members who died from exposure to methylene chloride. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control, a dozen people specializing in the restoration of baths died between 2000 and 2011.

Sen. Tom Udall (DN.M.), who co-drafted the Chemical Safety Act used by the EPA to limit methylene chloride, said the agency does not have a chemical. had "not respected the spirit and the letter" of the bipartite law. South Carolina's two Republican Senators, Tim Scott and Lindsey O. Graham, also urged the administration to ban it.

"EPA's action today is a diluted protection that apparently values ​​industry profits at the expense of public health and safety – especially for workers who still risk their lives by being exposed to these risks. lethal products, "said Udall.

Dunn said that if the agency decided that the chemical could not be used safely in commercial operations, it could also determine that the product also posed an unreasonable risk to public health, "which could prohibit or restrict the use of one way or another".

Even though the retail ban on methylene-chlorine consumers could take more than eight months, Ms. Dunn added that she expected it to be eliminated much sooner because many stores have already stopped selling it. "We are absolutely delighted that this is happening," she said.

Wynne said there was still a lot of work to be done, but White House officials had made it clear that they would not stop using the chemical in light of the Pentagon's objections. "In the end, there are powers beyond the EPA that carry out a full and complete action," he said.