The families of two young men who died after using paint strippers containing the chemical methylene chloride announced that they, along with environmental and worker’s rights groups, are suing the EPA for not taking action to ban the chemical from stores.
The chemical, which was linked to the deaths of Kevin Hartley in April 2017 and Joshua Atkins in February 2018, is currently being phased out by stores such as Lowe’s, Sherwin-Williams and The Home Depot.
“The EPA must follow the home improvement industry’s lead and ban these deadly paint removers from store shelves and workplaces nationwide,” stated Liz Hitchcock, director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, an environmental organization that has been pushing for a ban of the chemical.
The EPA proposed in January 2017 that the chemical be banned from consumer and commercial paint stripping uses, but the proposal had since been tabled. It announced in May it would revisit the proposed ban.
