When the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 1976, it was intended to ensure that chemicals were safe throughout their life cycle, from manufacture to use and disposal. But flaws in the law prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking action against known health dangers.
Other laws, such as those setting air, water, and workplace safety standards, do not adequately regulate exposure to most chemicals and do not address the hazards chemicals can cause throughout their life cycles. The EPA needs to take action to quickly reduce exposure to toxic chemicals like hexane, which are primarily used in industrial applications but are also found in common household products, including stain removers, spray adhesives and craft paints. hexane sds is easily inhaled and can cause long-term, or even permanent, nerve damage.
We urge EPA to use the authority of the updated TSCA to protect people and the environment from toxic chemicals like hexane.
Federal agencies not doing enough to regulate hexane
Hexane is a solvent widely used as an industrial cleaner and degreaser, and is an ingredient in many consumer products. Hexane is easily inhaled or absorbed through the skin and has been thought for more than 40 years to cause long-term and even permanent nerve damage in the feet, legs, hands and arms. Existing regulations do not address consumer use and provide insufficient protection for workplace exposure. Only TSCA can address the entire life cycle of the chemical, from production to use to disposal. An unknown number of consumers purchase and use products containing hexane without realizing the health risks. Now is the time to expand public protection from hexane and other harmful chemicals.
Safer, more effective alternative to hexane now available
In the auto repair industry and other industries that require precision cleaning, water-based cleaners can replace hexane and other toxic solvents. Water-based adhesives are also a safer alternative to hexane in many consumer products. In the printing industry, vegetable and plant-based cleaners can be used instead of hexane. While the market responds to the need for safer solvents, consumer and worker protection should not be left to the private sector. Unfortunately, even though hexane is known to cause severe neurological damage and cost-effective, safer alternatives exist, this toxic substance remains in everyday consumer products and is widely used in industry as a solvent, making the U.S. People are exposed to unnecessary conditions. health risks.
The industry that discovered hexane
Hundreds of millions of pounds of hexane are produced each year in the United States as a solvent. It is used as a cleaning agent in printing, shoemaking, textiles, car brake repair and furniture manufacturing. It is also used in the food industry.
