EPA Clamps Down on Deadly Toxin Found in Paint Strippers

WEDNESDAY, May 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A toxin found in paint strippers that”s responsible for 85 U.S. deaths over the past five decades will be phased out for many uses, under an Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Tuesday.

The cancer-causing solvent methylene chloride will still have some allowed uses, but with strict guidelines aimed at keeping workers safe.

“Exposure to methylene chloride has devastated families across this country for too long, including some who saw loved ones go to work and never come home,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in an agency news release. “EPA’s final action brings an end to unsafe methylene chloride practices and implements the strongest worker protections possible for the few remaining industrial uses, ensuring no one in this country is put in harm’s way by this dangerous chemical.”

Environmental health advocacy group Toxic-Free Future applauded the move, but noted that it was a long time coming. The chemical was first put on the EPA”s “first ten chemicals” for review nearly eight years ago.

Lauren Atkins” son, Joshua, died using a coating remover that contained methylene chloride.

“I fought this fight for my son, Joshua. This fight never should have had to happen, and never should have taken this long. Methylene chloride should never have been on the market,” she said in a statement from Toxic-Free Future.

Atkins” story is not unique.

“My son, Kevin, died in 2017 from methylene chloride exposure from refinishing a bathtub at work,” Wendy Hartley said in the EPA news release. “I am pleased that the EPA is finally taking action and banning methylene chloride as a commercial bathtub stripper. This is a huge step that will protect vulnerable workers.”

Methylene chloride is most often used in commercial paint strippers, but can also be found in metal degreasers, aerosols, adhesives, paint and coating products, and in the manufacturing of some pharmaceuticals, according to the EPA.

However, the chemical can cause illness if it comes in contact with skin or is inhaled. It”s especially dangerous when methylene chloride fumes build up in small, unventilated spaces. At lower doses, fumes cause dizziness and numbness in the limbs, while at higher doses it can turn off the part of the brain that directs breathing.

At that point, unconsciousness and even heart attack can occur, leading to death.

According to one study, 85 such fatal cases are known to have occurred between 1980 and 2018, the EPA said, with most occurring in the workplace.

Attempts to curb methylene chloride use took place during the Obama and Trump administrations, but the new EPA rules are the toughest yet.

They ban the use of the chemical in paint strippers used for commercial purposes, and one year from now consumers won”t be able to buy paint strippers containing methylene chloride.

Overall, most industrial and commercial uses will be banned within the next two years.