Michal Freedhoff, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said the bans will protect workers, consumers and residents from the chemical’s harms.

Mechanic David Stoliaruk works the internal combustion engine of a car at IC Auto in Philadelphia, May 2, 2023. The EPA this week announced bans on two chemicals used in home and workplace settings.

The EPA bans trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), marking a significant step toward protecting public health from cancer-causing chemicals.

The Trump administration has postponed a U.S. EPA rule slated to ban the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, found in places such as dry cleaning and degreasers.

The EPA’s ban includes all uses of TCE. The agency is also banning the consumer use of perchloroethylene, also called PERC. This chemical is also used in dry-cleaning and automotive-care products.

The Trump administration's sudden U-turn on the historic rule preserves the long-fraught environmental and public health regulation.

She said it was unacceptable to continue to allow cancer-causing chemicals to be used in consumer products. Still, Freedhoff called the TCE ban the most significant of her career at the agency.

The EPA’s ban includes all uses of TCE. The agency is also banning the consumer use of perchloroethylene, also called PERC. This chemical is also used in dry-cleaning and automotive-care products.

Michal Freedhoff, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said the bans will protect workers, consumers and residents from the chemical’s harms. She ...