Client Alert: TCE and PCE Are Out!
Sherin and Lodgen LLP
Complex Law. Clear Guidance - Real Estate | Litigation | Business Law | Employment
By Jennifer Connelly
Final EPA Rules Impose Ban on All Uses of TCE, and All Consumer Uses and Many Commercial Uses of PCE; Impose Requirement for Workers
A set of new Environmental Protection Agency rules have been promulgated to ban and restrict the usage of certain chemicals: trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). TCE is used as a solvent in products, including those for cleaning and furniture care, degreasers, brake cleaners, sealants, lubricants, adhesives, paints and coatings, arts and crafts spray coatings, and is also used in the manufacture of some refrigerants. Safer alternatives are readily available for the majority of these uses. PCE is a solvent that is used in consumer uses for brake cleaners and adhesives, in commercial uses (most famously, in dry cleaning), and in many industrial settings. Safer alternatives are readily available for the majority of these uses.
The EPA’s rule regarding TCE will effectuate a ban of all uses of TCE over time (with the majority of uses eliminated within one year), and safer alternatives will be phased in over that time. The PCE rule will ban manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer uses, and many commercial uses, but some limited workplace uses may continue where safety controls can be implemented to protect the workforce.