U.S. bans use of two cancer-causing chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday banned two chemicals found in everyday products that can cause cancer and other serious diseases.

The two chemicals are trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE).

"It's simply unacceptable to continue to allow cancer-causing chemicals to be used for things like glue, dry cleaning or stain removers when safer alternatives exist," said Assistant Administrator for the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff.

"These rules are grounded in the best-available science that demonstrates the harmful impacts of PCE and TCE. EPA continues to deliver on actions that protect people, including workers and children, under the nation's premier bipartisan chemical safety law," Freedhoff said.

PCE and TCE are both nonflammable chlorinated solvents that are volatile organic compounds. PCE can biodegrade into TCE, and PCE may contain trace amounts of TCE as an impurity or a contaminant.

TCE is an extremely toxic chemical known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. TCE also causes damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, reproductive organs, and fetal heart defects, according to EPA.

PCE is known to cause liver, kidney, brain and testicular cancer, as well as damage to the kidney, liver and immune system, neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity.

(Cover via CFP)