On June 8, EPA announced a proposed rule that would ban most uses of the solvent perchloroethylene (PCE) and establish a workplace chemical protection program for the uses that are allowed to continue. PCE, also known as tetrachloroethylene and perc, is widely used in applications such as dry cleaning, aerosol degreasing, petroleum manufacturing, and fluorinated compound production. According to EPA, adverse health effects associated with PCE include neurotoxicity effects from acute and chronic inhalation exposures and dermal exposures as well as cancer from chronic inhalation exposures to the chemical. Central nervous system depression, kidney and liver effects, immune system toxicity, and developmental toxicity are among other adverse health effects related to PCE exposure. EPA’s proposal would prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution of PCE for all consumer uses of the chemical, as well as most industrial and commercial uses. Manufacturers, importers, processors, and distributors would be required to notify companies that receive PCE shipments about these prohibitions and to keep records. Most uses of PCE would be phased out in two years, but the agency is proposing a 10-year phaseout for PCE’s uses in dry cleaning to allow small businesses time to transition away from the chemical. Uses of PCE related to national security, aviation, and other critical infrastructure are among those that would be allowed to continue. EPA’s proposal would also allow the continued processing of PCE to produce “climate-friendly refrigerants” and other chemicals that have roles in the agency’s efforts related to climate change. These and the other allowed uses of PCE would be subject to EPA’s proposed workplace chemical protection program, which the rule says would include requirements to meet an inhalation exposure concentration limit and prevent direct dermal contact. The exposure limit for PCE described in the proposed rule is an existing chemical exposure limit, or ECEL, of 0.14 ppm (0.98 mg/m3) for inhalation exposures as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA). According to EPA, this limit “represents the concentration at which an adult human, including a member of a [potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation], would be unlikely to suffer adverse effects if exposed for a working lifetime.” EPA’s ECEL for PCE is significantly lower than the OSHA permissible exposure limit for the chemical, which is 100 ppm as an 8-hour TWA. “EPA has received data from industry that indicate many workplaces already have controls in place that may reduce exposures sufficient to meet the inhalation exposure limit in the proposed rule or to prevent direct skin contact with PCE,” the agency’s press release states. The proposed ban on PCE is the third rule issued through a new process that calls for EPA to evaluate and address the safety of existing chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act, as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act in 2016. The agency previously proposed to ban chrysotile asbestos in April 2022 and most uses of methylene chloride in April 2023. EPA published the proposed PCE rule in the Federal Register on June 16 and accepted public comments on the document until Aug. 15. EPA hosted a webinar on this topic on July 19. For more information, see EPA’s webpage on risk management for PCE.

NIOSH announced in a recent notice (PDF) that it has honored the request of Honeywell International Inc. to voluntarily rescind one of its respirator approvals. As of June 29, respirators bearing the approval number TC-84A-9263 are no longer approved by NIOSH and may no longer be used, manufactured, assembled, sold, or distributed. The agency directs individuals to contact Honeywell International regarding inquiries about the decision to voluntarily rescind this approval. NIOSH’s certified equipment list no longer includes the approval number TC-84A-9263. The list may be used to locate alternative NIOSH-approved respirators. The agency encourages respirator users and others to use this list to confirm testing and certification approval numbers, which are printed on NIOSH-approved respirators. The website of the agency’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory provides a list of additional guidance documents for users of respiratory protective devices.

A rule proposed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration would lower existing exposure limits for respirable crystalline silica in metal and nonmetal (MNM) and coal mines to a permissible exposure limit of 50 µg/m3 for a full-shift exposure, calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average. MSHA also proposes to establish an action level of 25 µg/m3 for respirable crystalline silica and to replace existing requirements for respiratory protection by incorporating by reference ASTM F3387-19, Standard Practice for Respiratory Protection. The proposed rule includes additional requirements related to medical surveillance, which are intended to improve early detection of diseases related to respirable crystalline silica. MSHA’s existing exposure limit for quartz in MNM mines is 100 µg/m3 for a full-shift exposure, calculated as an 8-hour TWA, and there is no separate silica standard for coal mines. The new proposed PEL of 50 µg/m3 for both MNM and coal mines is consistent with the PEL set by OSHA’s 2016 final rule on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. It’s also consistent with NIOSH’s criteria for a recommended standard that were put forward in 1974: that no worker be exposed to a TWA concentration of respirable crystalline silica greater than 50 µg/m3 as determined by a full-shift sample for up to a 10-hour workday over a 40-hour workweek. The proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. Further details can be found in the agency’s press release and on its silica rulemaking webpage.