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Content about Trichloroethylene

April 15, 2013
Former Va. Dry Cleaner to Reimburse EPA Over Cleanup Costs

PHILADELPHIA — Agency spent $616,351 on sampling, removal, disposal of contaminated soil

PHILADELPHIA — The former Jay-Cee Cleaners and former owner John L. Darby have agreed to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for costs the agency incurred while responding to the release of hazardous substances once used at the site, the agency reports.

Darby also agreed to resolve his failure to comply with EPA’s information-gathering efforts by paying a penalty.

The Nelsonia, Va., dry cleaning business ran its operations on the property from 1957 through 2003, and used hazardous substances that included tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene, which contaminated the soil, the EPA says.

The agency oversaw sampling, removal and disposal of contaminated soil from the Jay-Cee Cleaners site between September 2007 and March 2010, at a reported cost of $616,351.

Under the proposed consent decree, Darby will pay the EPA 100% of the net sale proceeds from sale of the property, and 50% of net sale proceeds from the sale of an adjacent property behind the site.

The settlement will go toward EPA’s Superfund for future hazardous-waste cleanup efforts.

April 11, 2012
Perc Proclamation (Part 2 of 2)

WASHINGTON — What does the EPA’s classification of perc as a “likely human carcinogen” mean for the future of the solvent

WASHINGTON — When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted the final health assessment for tetrachloroethylene—also known as perchloroethylene, or perc—to its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database in February, it deemed the chemical to be a “likely human carcinogen.”

The assessment replaces the 1988 IRIS assessment for perc and for the first time includes a hazard characterization for cancer effects. The assessment underwent several levels of rigorous, independent peer review including: agency review, interagency review, public comment, and external peer review by the National Research Council, according to the EPA, and all major review comments were addressed.

The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance says 70% of U.S. commercial dry cleaners use perc; EPA estimates the total number to be 27,000. So what does this development mean for the future of the industry’s preferred solvent?

December 22, 2011
EPA Finalizes Plan to Clean Up Old Dry Cleaner Site in Hempstead, N.Y.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a plan to clean up ground water at the Peninsula Boulevard Ground Water Plume Superfund site in Hempstead, N.Y.

The ground water is contaminated with tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, dry-cleaning chemicals that can seriously impact people’s health, EPA says.

The cleanup plan entails extracting ground water from the site using pumping wells and treating the water to remove the contaminants before it is disposed of at a public wastewater treatment facility or sent back into surface or ground water.

Residents in the area get their drinking water from the Long Island American Water Co., which operates a drinking water well field approximately 1,000 feet north of the Peninsula Boulevard site. EPA did not detect any contaminants above acceptable levels in ground water from the company during its investigation.

A series of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation investigations in the 1990s revealed an extensive ground water contaminant plume at the site of the former Grove Cleaners, EPA says.

July 19, 2010
American Cancer Society Calls for Further Study of Perc

NEW YORK — A new report from the American Cancer Society and other world health groups has identified “gaps in research” for 20 suspected carcinogens including perchloroethylene.

Entitled “Identification of research needs to resolve the carcinogenicity of high-priority IARC [International Agency for Research on Cancer] carcinogens,” the report intends to prioritize the compounds for additional research and scientific study that leads to a more definitive classification of the agents.

March 23, 2010
EPA Outlines New Drinking-Water Strategy, Targets Perc

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlined a new strategy to protect the public from chemical contaminants in drinking water yesterday, as well as plans to revise its drinking-water standard for four chemical contaminants, including perchloroethylene.