[Durham INC] Fw: Illininois to phase out PERC

[Melissa Rooney]

See below. How do we get NC, or even just DURHAM, to do the same?

Melissa

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-perc-chemical-20100312,0,7779168
.story





State taking steps to phase out dry cleaning chemical


Legislative proposal would limit perchloroethylene in 2013 and ban it by
2026






By Michael Hawthorne, Tribune reporter 

March 14, 2010

Illinois is moving to phase out the use of perchloroethylene, or perc, a
common dry-cleaning chemical linked to cancer, liver damage and neurological
problems.

Under legislation
<http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=6115&GAI
D=10&SessionID=76&LegID=52095>  pushed by Gov. Pat Quinn's
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/government/pat-quinn-PEPLT0074
66.topic>  administration, dry cleaners would be banned from installing new
perc machines after this year and from using the chemical in residential
buildings by 2013. All perc use would be outlawed in 2026, giving businesses
time to switch to other cleaning methods.

Concerns about perc have been growing for years. The widespread
contamination of groundwater from dry-cleaner spills came into sharper focus
last year after the Tribune reported
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-crestwood-story-gallery%2C0%2C
4666202.storygallery>  that residents of south suburban Crestwood
unwittingly drank water contaminated with perc and related chemicals for
more than two decades.

Based on years of research, the federal government also considers perc a
hazardous air pollutant that can pose health risks from chronic exposure.

Similar to rules already adopted in California
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/us/california-PLGEO100100100000000.topi
c>  and being considered by other states, the Illinois legislation seeks to
dramatically reduce the use of a toxic chemical that has poisoned hundreds
of sites across the state. Cleaners have taxed themselves to finance the
cleanup of about 500 sites <http://drycleaners.apps.chicagotribune.com/> ,
most of which are in the Chicago area. More than 400 remain.

In an attempt to soften opposition from the dry-cleaning industry, which
includes many small, family-owned shops, the state would award grants of up
to $10,000 to buy new, perc-free equipment. The grants would be funded by a
new tax on perc used by cleaners.

"We realize this is an industry made up of a lot of small businesses," said
Doug Scott, director of the Illinois Environmental
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/environmental-issues/environmental-clea
nup/u.s.-environmental-protection-agency-ORGOV000048.topic>  Protection
Agency. "But there is new and better technology available that doesn't
create ... environmental and health problems."

Developed in the 19th century, perc is a chlorine-based solvent that dry
cleaners adopted after World War I. It once was used in massive quantities
with few if any rules to protect workers and neighbors from noxious vapors
or surrounding properties from chemical spills.

The amount of perc used in Illinois has steadily dropped as the dangers
became more widely understood and states started taxing purchases of the
chemical to pay for cleanups. Dry cleaners used about 82,000 gallons of perc
in 2007, down 54 percent from nearly 181,000 gallons in 2000, according to
the Drycleaner <http://www.cleanupfund.org/>  Environmental Response Fund of
Illinois.

Though it still is the solvent of choice for most cleaners, several shops in
the Chicago area have switched to other methods.

Some use a process called "wet cleaning," which uses water,
computer-controlled washers and dryers and specialized detergents. Others
rely on liquid carbon dioxide to remove stains. There also are shops that
have switched from perc to petroleum-based solvents.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit group that publishes Consumer Reports
magazine, tested carbon dioxide cleaning in 2003 and found it
<http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2007/03/a_perc_you_can_.html>
"better than traditional dry cleaning."

The U.S. EPA has said the amount of perc that lingers on clothes is not a
significant health threat. Consumers Union conducted its own tests in New
York during the mid-1990s and concluded that repeated exposure could
increase the risk of cancer for people who frequently wear dry-cleaned
clothes.

"It's not like the industry would cease to exist without perc," said Tom
Ustanik, co-owner of Lansing Cleaners, who stopped using the chemical in
1999 after buying his first carbon dioxide machine. "We've found the
alternatives are just as effective and enable us to get the work done more
quickly."

The state legislation that would phase out perc, written by the Illinois EPA
and sponsored by Rep. Julie Hamos
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/julie-hamos-PEPLT002660.topic>
(D- Evanston
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/us/illinois/cook-county/evanston-PLGEO1
00100501430000.topic> ), is pending on the House floor after passing out of
committee last week.

Among other things, the bill would speed up a federal deadline for
eliminating perc at cleaners that share space in residential buildings, to
2013 rather than 2020. The Obama administration is considering its own
tougher limits on perc nationwide.

Barbara Boden, executive director of the Illinois Professional Drycleaners &
Launderers, said the trade group is meeting this week to debate an official
position on the bill.

Nationally, the industry has pushed for an extended phaseout of perc and
continued to argue the chemical is safe to use.


      
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