US EPA Bans Trichloroethylene in All Uses

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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a final rule for trichloroethylene to ban most uses within a one-year timeframe. Some industrial uses have a longer phase-out period.

On December 17, 2024, the EPA issued a final rule (89 FR 102568) to regulate the use of the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE, CAS 79–01–6). This comes after the EPA’s proposal to ban most of the chemical’s uses in October of 2023, followed by subsequent comment period (SG 154/23).

Trichloroethylene is one of the first 10 chemicals listed for review by the agency in 2016. The EPA is tasked with evaluating those chemicals for potential risks to human health and the environment under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). If the risk evaluation determines the chemical poses an unreasonable risk, the agency is required to mitigate that risk. Following this process, the EPA has already proposed rules for carbon tetrachloride, N-methylpyrrolidone, and 1-bromopropane (SG 96/24, SG 131/24), and finalized rules for asbestos, methylene chloride and perchloroethylene (SG 77/24, SG 187/24).

TCE is widely used as a solvent in a variety of industrial, commercial and consumer applications, including hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) production, vapor and aerosol degreasing, and in lubricants, greases, adhesives and sealants. The EPA has determined significant adverse health effects associated with the use of TCE and is addressing the concern by amending 40 CFR 751 ‘Regulation of certain chemical substances and mixtures’, under section 6 of TSCA.

Under the finalized rule most prohibitions will go into effect within one year, including TCE manufacture and processing for all consumer and most commercial products. Table 1 highlights specific deadlines within the one-year timeframe.

Table 1

For uses that are allowed beyond the one-year mark, most of which are specific to industrial settings, including certain phase-out schedules, the rule puts in place worker safety requirements until the respective prohibition dates are reached. The rule will eventually prohibit all uses of TCE.

The prohibitions do not apply to products containing TCE at concentrations below 0.1% (w/w).

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