• Methylene chloride is responsible for dozens of tragedies across the country.
• Wendy Hartley lives in Hermitage.

Last April, I lost my son, Kevin, to a chemical you can find in any hardware store.

I was shocked to learn that the chemical – methylene chloride – is responsible for dozens of tragedies across the country. Yet, you can still buy it by the gallon, just as easily as you can a gallon of milk.

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Federal officials recently announced they will postpone consideration of a ban on this killer chemical – a delay that will almost certainly cost lives.

Kevin, the youngest of my three children, was always trying to make everyone laugh. He had a strong work ethic and it showed in everything that he did. He was only 21 years old, living in Ashland City, and excited about embarking in a new career refinishing bathtubs.

The day he died was a normal day for him: he was refinishing a bathtub with a product called White Lightning Low Odor Stripper, one of dozens of paint stripping products that use methylene chloride. He was careful: he wore a respirator mask to filter out toxic chemicals, but that wasn’t enough. This chemical is so dangerous that it overcame the mask and Kevin succumbed to the fumes.

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Unfortunately, Kevin is not alone. This chemical has been responsible for tragedies going back at least to 1947, when four men were killed by the chemical. Experts have called for restricting the chemical since 1976, and dozens of people have died from using methylene chloride paint strippers in the decades since.

Last year, Democrats and Republicans came together to fix the law that governs chemicals, which had long been broken and allowed methylene chloride and other deadly chemicals to remain on the market. Under this new law, the Environmental Protection Agency finally proposed a ban on methylene chloride in paint stripping products earlier this year.

Sadly, last December, the Administration announced it would indefinitely postpone consideration of a ban of methylene chloride, along with action on two other toxic chemicals. The announcement was all the more surprising given the bipartisan outrage over the nominee to oversee federal chemical safety efforts.

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That nominee, Michael Dourson, drew fire from communities across the country impacted by some of the very chemicals for which he had been paid to advocate.

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In October, I joined many such families in Washington to voice concerns about putting someone so conflicted in charge of chemical safety. Thanks to strong opposition, from both sides of the aisle, Dourson was forced to withdraw his nomination.

The lesson should be clear: Americans care about protecting their families from toxic chemicals. It’s long past time to ban methylene chloride in paint stripping products — and set up a strong system to protect the public from other dangerous chemicals.

Labels and warnings are fine, but products with chemicals that can easily kill people or cause serious health problems have no place on store shelves.

There was nothing I could do to help Kevin, but I take comfort in the fact that he saved four lives as an organ donor. Now, I hope sharing his story can save more lives.

I hope the EPA will reverse course on chemical safety to ensure that no other family, whether here in Tennessee or elsewhere in the nation, loses a loved one to unregulated toxic chemicals.

Wendy Hartley lives in Hermitage.

Source: https://t-tees.com
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