EPA bans most uses of cancer-causing chemicals used as paint strippers

The Biden administration on Tuesday banned most use of a toxic chemical used as paint stripper.

Prolonged exposure to the chemical methylene chloride can cause cancer of the liver, lung, breast, brain, blood and central nervous system.

It has also caused at least 88 deaths from short-term exposure since 1980, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It has been used in a variety of ways, including in adhesives, automotive products, and paint and coating removers.

In addition to banning many uses, the agency is also adding new workplace safety requirements where methylene chloride will still be used.

“Exposure to methylene chloride has devastated families across the country for far too long,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan in a written statement.

He added that the agency’s latest action “puts an end to unsafe methylene chloride practices and implements the strongest possible worker protections for the few remaining industrial uses, ensuring that no one in this country is put in harm’s way by this dangerous chemical.”

All consumer uses of methylene chloride will be banned, as will most industrial uses, but its use in the production of other chemicals, the production of electric vehicle battery components, and the manufacture of plastic and rubber will still be permitted.

These uses will continue with restrictions, including worker exposure limits, monitoring requirements, and employee training requirements.

This rule is among the first actions taken by the EPA under a 2016 overhaul of a chemical control law that gave it additional authority to analyze chemicals that are already on the market.

It is also one of several actions recently taken by the Biden administration to reduce Americans’ exposure to toxic substances. The administration also established new rules for toxic industrial emissions and limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water.