Industrial facilities often use industrial cleaners to clean and polish machines. Halogenated solvents like perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene (TCE) are associated with several types of cancer in humans, and breathing these chemicals can cause problems ranging from headaches to liver damage.
Collegeville, PA, is home to two metal tubing manufacturers, and has also reported the highest levels of TCE in the state. The Environmental Protection Agency has adopted a rule that exempts these facilities and dozens like them from controlling their carcinogenic emissions. Earthjsutice, on behalf of PennFuture and the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging the EPA's rule. Hopefully, for the people of Collegeville, and for the hundreds of other communities and neighborhoods around the country, EPA will decide the do the right thing and require controls on these pollutants.