Perchloroethylene or “Perc.”

The process long favored by dry cleaners uses Perchloroethylene or “Perc.”  It is inexpensive, cleans remarkably well and is relatively safe if handled properly.  The problems arise when the safety guidelines are ignored.

Perchloroethylene is a chlorocarbon, a V.O.C. (volatile organic compound) is an excellent solvent for organic material, nonflammable and highly stable. For these reasons, it is widely used in dry cleaning, usually as a mixture with other chlorocarbons. 

It is also used to degrease metal parts in the automotive and other metalworking industries and it appears in a few consumer products including paint strippers and spot removers.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified  Perchloroethylene as a Group 2A carcinogen, which means that it is probably  carcinogenic to humans.  Like many chlorinated hydrocarbons, Perchloroethylene is a central nervous system depressant and can enter the  body through the respiratory system or dermal exposure.  Perchloroethylene dissolves fats from the skin, potentially resulting in skin irritation.

Perchloroethylene is a common soil contaminant. Because of the mobility of PCE in groundwater, its toxicity at low levels, and its density  (which causes it to sink below the water table), cleanup activities are more difficult than for oil spills.

It is stored in the body's fat and slowly released into the bloodstream,  Perchloroethylene can be detected in the breath for weeks  following a heavy exposure. 

There is at least one correlation between reports of high incidence of breast                                                                                             cancer among women living on long island and those women  being professional women indicating the regular use of dry cleaned clothes. 

For more information:

Environment, Health and Safety Online > Percchloroethylene

Worker exposure risks and effects:

http://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/perc.html

US EPA: Air Toxics Web Site:

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/tet-ethy.html

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