• The final rule under section 6 of TSCA prohibits the manufacture, processing, and distribution of methylene chloride in all paint and coating removers for consumer use, including distribution to and by retailers.
• Manufacturers, importers, processors, and distributors of methylene chloride for any use must provide downstream notification of the rule’s prohibitions (through a safety data sheet) to companies to whom methylene chloride was shipped.

Methylene chloride is a volatile chemical used in a variety of industries, such as paint and coating removal, plastic processing, metal cleaning and degreasing, adhesive manufacture, and as a heat transfer fluid.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found risks to consumers using methylene chloride to be unreasonable due to acute human lethality. Even short-term exposures to the chemical fumes can rapidly cause dizziness, loss of consciousness, and death due to nervous system depression. EPA is particularly concerned about consumers’ risk of death from using methylene chloride in enclosed spaces, e.g., bathrooms.

TSCA actions related to methylene chloride

Actions to protect people and the environment from methylene chloride under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are as follows:

• 2019 Consumer Ban on Paint and Coating Removal Products — On March 15, 2019, EPA issued a final rule under section 6 of TSCA to address the agency’s final determination of unreasonable risk of injury to health due to acute human lethality presented by methylene chloride in paint and coating removal for consumer use. (The final rule added regulations to 40 CFR 751.)

• The final rule prohibits the manufacture, processing, and distribution of methylene chloride in all paint and coating removers for consumer use, including distribution to and by retailers. Although EPA had proposed to regulate methylene chloride for other commercial paint and coating removal uses, the agency decided to further evaluate the risks from such uses to inform the development of an appropriate regulatory risk management approach.
• Manufacturers, importers, processors, and distributors of methylene chloride for any use must use a safety data sheet (SDS) to provide downstream notification of the rule’s prohibitions to companies to whom methylene chloride was shipped.
• The recordkeeping requirement under this final rule mandate that each person (excluding retailers of products to consumer end users) who manufactures, processes, or distributes in commerce any methylene chloride must retain in one location at the headquarters of the company, or at the facility for which the records were generated, documentation showing:
  * The name, address, contact, and telephone number of companies to whom methylene chloride was shipped;
  * A copy of the notification provided to companies to whom the methylene chloride was shipped; and
• * The amount of methylene chloride shipped.
• This information must be retained for three years from the date of shipment.

• Managing Risks Found in the 2020 Final Risk Evaluation — EPA selected methylene chloride as one of the first 10 chemicals to undergo risk evaluation to examine risks posed by conditions of use not addressed by the 2019 rule, i.e., commercial methylene chloride in paint and coating removal, including commercial furniture refinishing.

• In June 2020, EPA released the final risk evaluation for methylene chloride, identifying unreasonable risks to workers, occupational non-users, consumers, and bystanders from methylene chloride exposure under 47 out of 53 conditions of use. EPA did not find any unreasonable risks to the environment from use of this chemical.
• The next step in the process required by TSCA is addressing these methylene chloride risks. There are several actions EPA could take to address these risks, including regulations to prohibit or limit the manufacture, processing, distribution in the marketplace, use, or disposal of this chemical substance, as applicable.