American Chemistry Council responds to EPA proposal to restrict uses of perchloroethylene under the Toxic Substances Control Act; ACC points out EPA limit is 700 times lower than OSHAH legal limit

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June 13, 2023 (press release) –

WASHINGTON (June 12, 2023) — The American Chemistry Council (ACC) released a statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) proposal to restrict uses of perchloroethylene (PCE) under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The following may be attributed to the American Chemistry Council:

“While we are still reviewing the language of EPA’s proposed rule on perchloroethylene, ACC notes that the agency’s approach appears to be evolving in some aspects as it gains more experience in addressing risk management. We see that the PCE proposal includes a de minimis limit, a critical element missing from the methylene chloride proposed rule.

“We also note that more applications are proposed for workplace regulation rather than outright prohibitions, and further note that EPA offers more recognition in the preamble to potential impacts on small businesses.

“ACC remains concerned with many aspects of EPA’s approach to risk management under TSCA, however. One such concern is EPA’s approach to setting its proposed occupational exposure limits. Here, we note that the EPA limit for PCE is 700 times lower than the OSHA legal limit and nearly 200 times below the recommendation from the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.

“These limits may be scientifically unsupportable. Regardless, in cases where EPA proposes such significant departures from global or domestic OELs, at a minimum, much longer compliance periods will be needed. Here, we urge EPA to allow at least five years for compliance toward meeting such low limits.”

PCE, also known as tetrachloroethylene, is used in a broad number of applications, ranging from dry cleaning to precision cleaning and chemical milling, to isomerization and catalytic reforming in petroleum refining, to its use as a chemical intermediate in the production of refrigerants and other chemistries that are important to achieving the greenhouse gas reduction goals of the Kigali Amendments.

American Chemistry Council

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the multibillion-dollar business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products, technologies and services that make people's lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health, safety and security performance through Responsible Care®; common sense advocacy addressing major public policy issues; and health and environmental research and product testing. ACC members and chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development, and are advancing products, processes and technologies to address climate change, enhance air and water quality, and progress toward a more sustainable, circular economy.

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