What is the government doing to reduce environmental and health risks of perc?
EPA regulates environmental releases of perc through a variety of laws including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (disposal), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund). For example, drycleaners are required to comply with EPA’s perc drycleaning National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). This NESHAP has reduced the amount of perc released from drycleaning shops across the country. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the cleaning guidance on garment care labels. FTC is proposing changes to allow the labeling of garments now labeled “dryclean only” for environmentally preferable cleaning technologies. Perc exposures to workers in drycleaning shops are regulated by exposure limits set by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is expected to propose a new lower limit in the near future
