Will EPA Follow Through on Ban of Deadly Paint-Stripping Chemical?

"Products containing methylene chloride have killed dozens of people, but the agency is slow-walking restrictions proposed by the Obama administration"

"It might be surprising to learn that simply removing paint could be fatal, but the key ingredient in many paint-stripping products has felled dozens of people engaged in this run-of-the-mill task. In the waning days of the Obama administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed to largely ban paint strippers containing the chemical methylene chloride so they would no longer sit on store shelves, widely available for anyone to buy.

What’s happened since should be no shock to close observers of the Trump administration's pattern of regulatory rollbacks. The EPA, after hearing from both Americans in support of a ban and companies opposed to it, pushed back its timeline for finishing the rule to an unspecified date, saying it needed more time to weigh the issue.

Consumer advocates fear the proposed rule has been effectively shelved, even as people continue to die while using methylene chloride paint strippers on bathtubs and other items — including at least three last year."

Jamie Smith Hopkins reports for the Center for Public Integrity March 26, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"Members of Congress to EPA: Act Now On Deadly Chemical" (Center for Public Integrity)