Biden administration takes strong action with ban on toxic chemicals

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a comprehensive ban on two widely used chemicals, trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (perc), both of which have been linked to serious health risks, including cancer. 

EPA revealed a ban on two well-known carcinogens commonly used in consumer products and industrial applications. This move highlights President Joe Biden's commitment to implementing significant chemical safety protections before the end of his term, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The announcement includes a complete ban on trichloroethylene (TCE), a substance found in common consumer and industrial products such as degreasers, furniture care items, and auto repair products. Additionally, the EPA has prohibited all consumer uses and many commercial applications of tetrachloroethylene (perc or PCE), a solvent widely used in dry cleaning and auto repair. 

“Both of these chemicals have caused too much harm for too long, despite the existence of safer alternatives,” said Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, a senior attorney at Earthjustice. 

These bans follow risk assessments conducted by the EPA last year, which determined that both chemicals pose an unreasonable risk to human health and the environment.

The EPA reports that perc is harmful to both the nervous and reproductive systems and is a persistent pollutant in the environment. Multiple organizations, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, have classified it as a probable human carcinogen. Perc can also degrade into trichloroethylene (TCE).

TCE, meanwhile, is linked to several types of cancer, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, and kidney and liver cancer. It is also toxic to the nervous system, immune system, and reproductive system, even with low-level exposure.

Michal Freedhoff, the EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, emphasized that the bans would protect workers, consumers, and communities from the harmful effects of these chemicals. She called it unacceptable to allow cancer-causing chemicals to remain in consumer products.

However, Freedhoff also described the TCE ban as the most significant milestone of her career at the agency. Her work on TCE began decades ago, alongside then-Congressman Edward J. Markey. She frequently heard about Anne Anderson, an advocate who brought attention to the dangers of TCE in drinking water after her 3-year-old son, Jimmy, was diagnosed with leukemia. Anderson’s advocacy in Woburn, Massachusetts, in the 1980s garnered national attention.

“The only thing that we could do to really address the risks of this incredibly dangerous chemical was to ban it because there was no way to keep people and the environment safe from its effects,” Freedhoff said, reflecting that Jimmy would be a year younger than her if he were alive today. For her, it feels like a full-circle moment.

By Naila Huseynova