On December 9, 2024, the EPA announced it finalized the latest risk management rules for trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) under the 2016 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amendments.

 

TCE is an extremely toxic chemical known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It also causes damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, and reproductive organs, even in miniscule amounts, and can cause fetal heart defects.

PCE is known to cause liver, kidney, brain, and testicular cancer, as well as damage to the kidney, liver, and immune system; neurotoxicity; and reproductive toxicity.

“It’s simply unacceptable to continue to allow cancer-causing chemicals to be used for things like glue, dry cleaning or stain removers when safer alternatives exist,” said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, in an Agency news release. “These rules are grounded in the best-available science that demonstrates the harmful impacts of PCE and TCE.”

TCE

TCE is used as a solvent in consumer and commercial products like cleaning and furniture care products, degreasers, brake cleaners, sealants, lubricants, adhesives, paints and coatings, and arts and crafts spray coatings and is used in the manufacture of some refrigerants. According to the EPA, safer alternatives are readily available for most of these uses.

Under this rule, all uses of TCE will be banned over time (with most identified risks eliminated within 1 year).

“All TCE uses with longer phaseout timeframes will have worker safety requirements, such as a Workplace Chemical Protection Plan that includes an inhalation exposure limit,” the EPA release continues. “The final rule sets a different inhalation exposure limit for airborne TCE than was proposed. This change was made in response to public comments to ensure the limit is feasible to implement and monitor while still reducing risk. EPA estimates that the new inhalation exposure limit would reduce long-term workplace exposure by 97%.

“Many of the TCE uses that are continuing for longer than one year occur in highly industrialized settings that can adopt EPA’s new stringent worker protections, such as uses of TCE to clean parts used in aircraft and medical devices, to manufacture battery separators, to manufacture refrigerants, as well as in other transportation, security and defense systems.

“For the use of TCE in manufacturing refrigerants, the longer timeframe supports fighting climate change by complementing efforts to phase down climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons under the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act.

“All of these uses ultimately will be prohibited, but some of the exemptions associated with longer timeframes are necessary to avoid impacts to national security or critical infrastructure. In addition, some of the timeframes have been adjusted from the proposed rule based on public comment to allow reasonable time for transitioning to alternatives,” the EPA news release adds. “Further, to support cleanup activities at sites of past TCE contamination (such as Superfund sites), EPA is allowing essential laboratory use and proper disposal of TCE wastewater to continue for 50 years provided worker protections are in place, including the inhalation exposure limit set by today’s rule.”

Learn more about the TCE rule.

PCE

PCE is a solvent used in brake cleaners and adhesives and for commercial applications like dry cleaning. Safer alternatives are readily available for most of these uses, according to the EPA.

“EPA is finalizing a 10-year phaseout for the use of PCE in dry cleaning to eliminate the risk to people who work or spend considerable time at dry cleaning facilities,” the Agency’s release notes. “Use of PCE in newly acquired dry-cleaning machines will be prohibited after six months. Compliance dates for machines that are already owned will vary depending on the type of dry-cleaning machine used, with older types of machines being phased out sooner than newer ones. Many dry cleaners have already begun this transition. This timeline is unchanged from the proposed rule.

“EPA’s final risk management rule requires companies to rapidly phase down manufacturing, processing and distribution of PCE for all consumer use and many uses at industrial and commercial workplaces, most of which will be fully phased out in less than three years. For most of the uses of PCE that EPA is prohibiting, EPA’s analysis found that alternative products with similar costs and efficacy to PCE are reasonably available.”

Today’s final rule will better protect people from these risks by banning the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer uses and many commercial uses while allowing some workplace uses to continue only where robust workplace controls can be implemented.

“PCE and TCE are both nonflammable chlorinated solvents that are volatile organic compounds,” the release continues. “PCE can biodegrade into TCE, and PCE may contain trace amounts of TCE as an impurity or a contaminant. The chemicals can often serve as alternatives for each other. For several uses of TCE that will be totally prohibited, there is an analogous use of PCE that can continue safely in perpetuity under workplace controls.”

The uses that will continue under the PCE rule include:

• Energized electrical cleaning
• Laboratory use for asphalt testing and recovery
• Making refrigerants and other chemicals
• Vapor degreasing
• Petrochemical manufacturing
• Agricultural chemical manufacturing
• Cold cleaning of tanker vessels
• Maskant for chemical milling
• Adhesives and sealants
• Processing into formulation, mixture, or reaction products
• Importing, recycling, disposing of, and processing by repackaging and domestic manufacturing of PCE

Learn more about the PCE rule.