Perchloroethylene (PERC) is the most common solvent used for dry cleaning in the United States. PERC is a reproductive toxicant, neurotoxicant, potential human carcinogen, and a persistent environmental pollutant. The Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating PERC under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (amended TSCA), and has mandated that PERC dry cleaning machines be removed from residential buildings. Some local and state programs are also requiring or facilitating transitions to alternative cleaning technologies. However, the potential for these alternatives to harm human health and the environment is not well-understood. This review describes the issues surrounding the use of PERC and alternative solvents for dry cleaning while highlighting the lessons learned from a local government program that transitioned PERC dry cleaners to the safest current alternative: professional wet cleaning. Implications for future public health research and policy are discussed: (1) we must move away from PERC, (2) any transition must account for the economic instability and cultural aspects of the people who work in the industry, (3) legacy contamination must be addressed even after safer alternatives are adopted, and (4) evaluations of PERC alternatives are needed to determine their implications for the long-term health and sustainability of the people who work in the industry.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.638082 | DOI Listing |
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Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Clean Conversion and High Value Utilization of Biomass Resources, Yili Normal University, Yining 835000, China.
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January 2025
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, Canada.
The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CORR) using renewable electricity sources could provide a sustainable solution for generating valuable chemicals, such as formate salt or formic acid. However, an efficient, stable, and scalable electrode generating formate at industrially viable current densities (>100 mA cm) is yet to be developed. Sn or In-based catalysts in gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) can efficiently produce formate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
January 2025
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. Electronic address:
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January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for many clean energy technologies. Yet, they are a limited resource currently obtained through carbon-intensive mining. Here, bio-scaffolded proteins serve as simple, effective materials for the recovery of REEs.
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December 2024
Medical Affairs, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad, IND.
Background Toothbrush manufacturers commonly use bristle materials such as nylon, polybutylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, boar hair, bamboo, carbon fiber, silicone, polylactic acid, or their modifications such as Curen. Nylon filaments have long been demonstrated to be durable and are widely used, but not much is known regarding the performance of Curen filaments compared to nylon filaments. This in vitro study compared the stiffness, abrasion potential, abrasion resistance, and bristle surface changes of Curen and nylon filaments.
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