Trichloroethylene. Environmental protection (ICS 13.020), Products of the chemical industry (ICS 71.100)

Trichloroethylene; Regulation of Certain Uses Under TSCA Sec. 6(a) (33 pages, in English)

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a volatile organic compound widely used in industrial and commercial processes and has some limited uses in consumer and commercial products. EPA identified significant health risks associated with TCE use in aerosol degreasing and for spot cleaning in dry cleaning facilities. EPA has preliminarily determined that these risks are unreasonable risks. To address these unreasonable risks, EPA is proposing under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of TCE for use in aerosol degreasing and for use in spot cleaning in dry cleaning facilities; to prohibit commercial use of TCE for aerosol degreasing and for spot cleaning in dry cleaning facilities; to require manufacturers, processors, and distributors, except for retailers of TCE for any use, to provide downstream notification of these prohibitions throughout the supply chain; and to require limited recordkeeping.