Current:Home > InvestEPA proposes banning cancer-causing chemical used in automotive care and other products-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
EPA proposes banning cancer-causing chemical used in automotive care and other products
View Date:2024-12-24 09:09:22
WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care and arts and crafts spray coating.
The move would end a nearly four decade battle to ban the chemical known as TCE, which can cause sudden death or kidney cancer if a person is exposed to high levels of it, and other neurological harm even at lower exposure over a long period.
EPA’s recent risk-evaluation studies found that as much as 250 million pounds of TCE are still produced in the United States annually. One of the first places the chemical raised concern was in Massachusetts, where it was linked to contaminated drinking water in the city of Woburn. Two locations there were ultimately designated as massive Superfund sites. Monday’s news conference was held at one of them, a location which now serves as a transportation center.
“For far too long, TCE has left a toxic legacy in communities across America,” said Michal Freedhoff, the EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Today, EPA is taking a major step to protect people from exposure to this cancer-causing chemical.”
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, who has led the effort to ban TCE, welcomed the move.
“With this rule, we can see a future where we will no longer be manufacturing, processing and distributing a chemical known to be deadly,” Markey said. “We will no longer be exposing American families, communities and workers to a toxic chemical legacy that leaves questions, cancer and catastrophe in its wake.”
Markey called the effort personal, citing his long-time work with Anne Anderson, a resident-turned-activist whose son Jimmy died in 1981 of leukemia.
“Since Anne and I met in 1980, we have been partners in the effort to clean up Woburn, to get justice for her son, and to save other families from seeing their children fall sick as a result of contamination,” Markey said. “Thanks to the advocacy of Anne Anderson and the action of the EPA, the era of corporations using communities like Woburn as dumping grounds for toxic TCE is over.”
A 1982 lawsuit over the contaminated water supply involved eight Woburn families, including the Andersons. The case garnered national attention and led to the book and movie titled “A Civil Action.”
TCE is used to make refrigerants and in solvents that remove grease from metal parts. It is also used in carpet cleaners, laundry spot removers and hoof polish for horses. The chemical presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment” in 52 of 54 uses in industrial and consumer products, the EPA has found.
“I am overwhelmed that all of you are here to acknowledge everything that has happened and everything that was bad has turned good,” Anderson said. “I owe so much to you people to keep the fight going, making sure that everybody is safe and that toxic chemicals like TCE will no longer exist.”
The proposed ban stems from a major expansion of EPA’s regulatory powers under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled rules governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture.
The statute authorized new rules for tens of thousands of toxic chemicals found in everyday products, including substances such as asbestos and TCE, that for decades have been known to cause cancer but were largely unregulated under federal law. Known as the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the law was intended to clear up a hodgepodge of state rules governing chemicals and to update the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.
The 2016 law required the EPA to evaluate chemicals and put in place protections against unreasonable risks. The agency moved to ban asbestos last year and has also proposed banning methylene chloride, perchloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride.
__
Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.
veryGood! (71)
Related
- Volkswagen, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Porsche among 304k vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- What's financial toll for Team USA Olympians? We asked athletes how they make ends meet.
- Rooftop Solar Was Having a Moment in Texas Before Beryl. What Happens Now?
- Shop the Best Nordstrom Anniversary 2024 Deals Under $100, Including Beauty, Fashion, Home & More
- Sister Wives' Janelle Brown Details to Meri Why She Can't Trust Ex Kody and His Sole Wife Robyn
- We are more vulnerable to tornadoes than ever before | The Excerpt
- Cucumbers sold at Walmart stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana recalled due to listeria
- Tom Sandoval Sues Ex Ariana Madix for Accessing NSFW Videos of Raquel Leviss
- Will Reeve, son of Christopher Reeve, gets engaged to girlfriend Amanda Dubin
- Claim to Fame Reveals Relatives of Two and a Half Men and Full House Stars
Ranking
- Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
- New Jersey to allow power plant hotly fought by Newark residents
- Former White House employee, CIA analyst accused of spying for South Korea, feds say
- JD Vance's abortion stance attacked by Biden campaign
- Denzel Washington Will Star in Black Panther 3 Before Retirement
- Maren Morris addresses wardrobe malfunction in cheeky TikTok: 'I'll frame the skirt'
- Pedro Hill: The relationship between the stock market and casinos
- Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo effective 1-2-3 punch at center for Team USA
Recommendation
-
To Protect the Ozone Layer and Slow Global Warming, Fertilizers Must Be Deployed More Efficiently, UN Says
-
Appeals court affirms Mississippi’s ban on voting after some felonies, including timber theft
-
Florida man arrested in after-hours Walgreens binge that included Reese's, Dr. Pepper
-
Kourtney Kardashian Reacts To Mason Disick Skipping Family Trip to Australia
-
John Krasinski Details Moment He Knew Wife Emily Blunt Was “the One”
-
President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas, has ‘mild symptoms’
-
Too soon for comedy? After attempted assassination of Trump, US politics feel anything but funny
-
Kris Jenner Shares Results of Ovary Tumor After Hysterectomy