Cleaner Dry Cleaners

摘要

Environment Canada has undertaken new regulatory initiatives to reduce releases of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PERC) into the environment. TCE and PERC are chlorinated solvents that have been linked to environmental contamination, primarily as a result of air emissions, spills and historical disposal practices. Both substances were declared toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) in 1994, and have undergone an extensive risk assessment by the departments of the environment and health. Under the authority of CEPA, the federal government has proposed new regulations to restrict TCE and PERC use by solvent degreasers (the Solvent Degreasing Regulations) and passed new regulations that will reduce PERC releases by dry-cleaners (the Tetrachloroethylene Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements Regulations).