EPA on Deadly Chemical Methylene Chloride
A number of large U.S. retailers, including Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, and Amazon, plan to stop selling all paint stripping products containing methylene chloride by year end, after 56 people died from exposure to those paint strippers since 1980. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists have said methylene chloride is so dangerous that it should be banned for all consumer and most professional uses because it poses an "unreasonable risk." The EPA proposed banning the chemical in 2017, but a year later, the agency has yet to take action. Some are not waiting for the government to take action; scientists at the University of Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute are developing an alternative they say is safer and works just as well, and a Canadian company has announced that it is producing a new product using that alternative formulation. "The goal is to have it available in every major hardware paint and retail chain in the United States, Canada, and Mexico . we feel it's a great option to have on the shelves of every retailer," says Greg Morose, a researcher at the institute.