Advocates within the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families organization held demonstrations this week in Lowe’s locations throughout the U.S. to urge the company to stop selling paint stripping products that contain methylene chloride, a controversial chemical that has been linked to three deaths in the last 13 months.
The “Week of Action” demonstrations included activists holding signs with pictures of the deceased and handing out information about the dangers of the chemical, along with a petition to Lowe’s to pull the products. The petition has garnered 120,000 signatures so far, according to Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
The demonstrations follow the death of Drew Wynne, 31, who had been using a paint stripper sold by Lowe’s in October, when he was overcome by the methylene chloride in the product. His family launched a Change.org petition in April advocating that Lowe’s phase out the products.
Kevin Hartley, 21, and Joshua Atkins, 31, died in April 2017 and February 2018, respectively, after also inhaling the chemical while using paint strippers sold at Lowe’s. The families of the deceased are scheduled to meet with the EPA this week to discuss regulations of the chemical.
The EPA proposed a ban on the chemicals in 2017 but has not finalized the proposal.
