CA agency seeks dry clean chemical ban

[Guest guest]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/10/22/california.cleaners.reut/index.ht

ml

CA agency seeks dry clean chemical ban

Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Posted: 5:05 PM EDT (2105 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) -- Southern California's clean air agency has

proposed the nation's first ban on a toxic chemical used in dry cleaning

that officials say makes the cleaners a greater cancer risk than oil

refineries or power plants.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which regulates air

pollution in four southern California counties with the worst smog problem

in the United States, would phase out the use of perchloroethylene or " perc "

by the year 2019.

The AQMD said that multiple studies have found perc to be either a probable,

possible or known carcinogen and that occupational health studies have found

elevated rates of lung, cervical, esophagus, bladder and other cancers in

dry cleaning workers.

The AQMD said in statement on Monday that the proposed measure, known as

Rule 1421, would require dry cleaners to gradually switch to one of several

nontoxic alternatives, including a relatively new process called " wet

cleaning " or hydrocarbon or silicone-based solvent cleaning.

The move would eliminate 850 tons of perc produced each year by the region's

approximately 2,200 dry cleaners, the AQMD said.

An industry group, the California Cleaners Association, called the proposed

ban on perc " overzealous " and said the cost of switching to a new system

would put mom-and-pop operators out of business. The association said

numerous studies have failed to show a conclusive link between perc and

cancer.

But a local environmental group, Coalition for Clean Air, said Rule 1421 did

not go far enough and urged the AQMD to phase out perc even more quickly.

" Perc is estimated to have contaminated one out of every ten public drinking

water wells in California, costing the state $3 billion to clean up " said Ed

Begley Jr., an actor and member of the coalition. " Perc is dangerous to our

health and our pockets. We must phase it out and turn to positive

alternatives that do work. "

The AQMD identified perc as one of six key toxic air contaminants in 2000,

even though dry cleaners have reduced their emissions of the chemicals by 80

percent over the past decade because of existing air pollution regulations.

According to the agency, dry cleaners pose a cancer risk to nearby residents

and workers ranging from 20 to 140 in 1 million, while oil refineries, power

plants and aerospace manufacturers pose a risk of less than 10 in 1 million.

The AQMD will consider the ban during a November 1 public hearing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----

Copyright 2002 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be

published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.