The Ecologist

March 2004

Science & Technology

DRY CLEANING

Is your dry cleaning killing you? Used by 95 per cent of dry cleaners in the UK, Perc, or Perchloroethylene, is a known carcinogen that has just been banned in southern California. Simon Crawshaw investigates the full cost of removing those unsightly stains

Since its introduction in the 1930s, Perc, or perchloroethylene, has replaced almost all other solvents in the dry cleaning industry. Today, 95 per cent of the UK's 7,000 dry cleaners use it. And yet, very little money has been invested into researching Perc's effects on people and the environment.

What we do know, however, should be enough to have Perc banned immediately. It has been linked to cancer, fertility problems, central nervous system damage, miscarriage and even death. Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of California's South Coast Air Quality Management Board (SCAQMB), goes as far as to say that `the average dry cleaner poses a higher cancer risk to its neighbours than a typical oil refinery or power plant'.

Thanks to the SCAQMB, the use of Perc is to be banned in southern California by 2020. But in the UK there is little evidence of government interest in addressing concerns over Perc. Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Norman Baker told The Ecologist `It is clear that Perc is hazardous, and we need to wake up to the fact that some chemicals that we thought were benign are not. Although we do not want to destroy people's livelihoods, if no blanket ban can be achieved then there is a determination to, at the very least, severely tighten regulations.'

PERC AND CANCER

Many scientists suspect that Perc causes cancer. But because companies are unwilling to fund studies that may prove their products are carcinogenic, little research is being done to conclusively answer the question either way. Consequently, the scientific community is reluctant to class Perc as a serious carcinogen. The evidence gathered so far, however, is not at all reassuring.

'It is clear that Perc is hazardous, and we need to wake up tothe fact that some chemicals we thought were benign are not'

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Norman Baker

DEATH

a report published in the Journal Clinical Toxicology referred to the case of a two-year-old boy who had been found dead after suffering from Perc poisoning. The solvent had been released from the curtains of his bedroom, which had been dry-cleaned earlier the same day.

MISCARRIAGE

Four studies between 1989 and 1991 showed that pregnant women working at dry cleaners were up to 400 per cent more likely to experience spontaneous terminations during pregnancy.

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DAMAGE

The US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a government-funded bureau that provides health information about diseases related to toxic substances, states that Perc can cause 'sleepiness, headache, loss of coordination... mood changes, faintness, dizziness... collapse, coma, and death'.

LIVER AND KIDNEY DAMAGE

Inhaling Perc for long periods can cause chronic liver and kidney damage, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the US a six-week-old baby developed jaundice and liver enlargement after her mother visited the dry cleaner where her husband worked. The baby girl was poisoned by Perc in her mother's breast milk.

FERTILITY PROBLEMS

The EPA also states that Perc can be responsible for irregularities in menstrul cycles, sperm quality and fertility.

CANCER

Many scientists suspect that Perc causes cancer. However, the scientific community is reluctant to class that as a serious carcinogen (see box opposite).