EPA considering nationwide ban on TCE over 3 years after Minnesota banned it
MINNEAPOLIS — A cancer-causing chemical first banned in Minnesota could be prohibited nationwide.
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to ban TCE. The proposed ban would take effect in one year, being phased out in some limited cases.
The Neighborhood Concerned Citizens Group formed after learning about pollution in their White Bear Township neighborhood. The culprit: a manufacturing plant named Water Gremlin.
"That was one of the first things we did as an organization, was to go after banning the use of that chemical," Sheri Smith said. "We knew their emissions of TCE were extraordinarily out of bounds."
Concern grew as stakeholders discovered the dangers associated with exposure to the toxic chemical. In this case, at elevated levels over 15-plus years.
MORE NEWS: Neighbors near Minneapolis' Smith Foundry wonder why EPA's pollution discovery wasn't made by MPCA
Former State Rep. Ami Wazlawik led the charge legislatively to pass the ban.
"It's a nasty chemical, and I think for me, the risk that it posed to the community knowing there were other alternatives other companies were using, for me, it wasn't anything we needed to continue using," Wazlawik said.
New York followed Minnesota's lead, outlawing the chemical. Now, the EPA is proposing a full ban on TCE.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency say that's significant.
"Their ban will also ban TCE in commercial and consumer products, and currently, those products could be entering our state from other places, so having this ban in place would add another layer of protection for our communities," Kari Palmer with the MPCA said.
Smith says the move highlights the real danger of the chemical.
"It's pretty validating of the actions we took," she said.
And there's renewed hope more communities will be protected.
"It's a huge step in the right direction to protect human health and the environment, and TCE threatens both of those," Smith said.
