Dry Cleaning Chemical Labelled Toxic and Carcinogenic by EPA

Indoor air quality affects everyone's health, but the repercussions of poor indoor air quality can be especially pronounced in individuals with asthma and allergies. While we may think of our homes as a haven from outdoor pollution like that from car exhaust and the like, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that indoor air can be up to ten times more polluted than outdoor air, particularly when it comes to volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

According to the EPA, ‘VOCs are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.’

Sources of VOCs in the home are numerous and varied, including varnishes, paints, cosmetics like nail polish, cleaning supplies, furnishings, permanent markers, adhesives, building materials, and printers, to name a few. Many VOCs that pollute indoor air are also brought into the home from outside sources. These include pesticides tracked in on shoes and dry cleaning chemicals brought into the home when clothing, linens, or drapery is dry cleaned.

In a growing body of instances, the EPA has been stepping into regulate some of these chemicals that can affect indoor air quality. Most recently, the EPA has issued restrictions on a popular dry cleaning chemical, perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. According to the Wall Street Journal in The New Dirt on Dry Cleaners, ‘Many dry cleaners will be required to find new solvents to replace a widely used cleaning agent called perchloroethylene, or perc, by 2020.’

The chemical has been used in dry cleaning since the 1930s, and over 80 percent of dry cleaning establishments rely on it. But the EPA has classified perc as a ‘toxic air pollutant and potential human carcinogen.’

On its own Chemical Fact Sheet on perc, the EPA describes the possible effects of human exposure to perc:

‘Breathing PERC for short periods of time can adversely affect the
human nervous system. Effects range from dizziness, fatigue, headaches and
sweating to incoordination and unconsciousness. Contact with PERC liquid
or vapor irritates the skin, the eyes, the nose, and the throat. These
effects are not likely to occur at levels of PERC that are normally found
in the environment.

‘Breathing perchloroethylene over longer periods of time can cause
liver and kidney damage in humans. Workers exposed repeatedly to large
amounts of PERC in air can also experience memory loss and confusion.
Laboratory studies show that PERC causes kidney and liver damage and cancer
in animals exposed repeatedly by inhalation and by mouth. Repeat exposure
to large amounts of PERC in air may likewise cause cancer in humans.’

Tune in Monday to learn about what allergy and asthma sufferers can do to limit their exposure to toxic dry cleaning chemicals.

For more on indoor air pollution, VOCs, allergies, and asthma, see:
Indoor Air Pollution and Air Quality
Indoor Air Quality Facts
VOCs and Indoor Air Quality
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Indoor Air Quality

_Image courtesy of wikiversity.

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