WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems.
The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health risks while allowing certain commercial uses to continue with robust worker protections.
The rule banning methylene chloride is the second risk management rule to be finalized by President Joe Biden’s administration under landmark 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act. The first was an action last month to ban asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products.
“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 a statement. The new rule , he said, “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.”
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
A new declaration in Mexico gives 19 cats roaming the presidential palace food and care fur
Dairy cattle in Texas, Kansas test positive for bird flu
Voodoo doll, whoopie cushion, denture powder among bizarre trash plucked from New Jersey beaches
I was 'brokefished' by my friend for £400
Moon landing attempt: Another US lunar lander blasts off
Better conditions fail to yield signs of missing crew member from fishing boat
New study finds no brain injuries among 'Havana syndrome' patients
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Astronomers find vast underground ocean under Saturn's Death Star
Justin Timberlake set to bring his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour to Australia in 2025
Posts misrepresent a photo of a Ukrainian soldier balancing on his prosthetic limbs