EPA bans two solvents used in dry cleaning and battery manufacture

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalised rules banning two common solvents used for purposes like dry cleaning, stain removal and automotive repair that have been linked to cancer. The EPA’s action, announced on 9 December, prohibits all uses of trichloroethylene (TCE) as well as all consumer uses and many commercial uses of tetrachloroethylene (PCE). The agency had first proposed a ban on all uses of TCE in October last year.