Restrictions on dry-cleaning agent perchloroethylene in California from January 2022.

According to California air standards, businesses have roughly one month to phase out perchloroethylene from dry cleaning operations, but more state- and federal-level actions over the solvent are expected soon.

The ban takes effect on 1 January 2023 and was created by a 2007 California Air Resources Board (CARB) rule. By doing so, California will become the first US state to ban the use of potential carcinogens in dry cleaning. Companies must switch to any safer alternative for this major application of perchloroethylene (PERC).

The bill banning PERC was adopted in other US states, including Minnesota, Michigan, and Maine. Minnesota will phase out PERC in 2026. In Michigan, legislators introduced a bill (HB 6511) in November 2022,  to block dry cleaners from using the compound by the end of 2028 and if approved, the legislation will ban the production and sale in 2027. The state of Maine, situated on the east-coast implements state-level National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the substance’s dry-cleaning applications. And the regulations of the state of New York align with a related 2008 national rule that prohibited PERC dry cleaning machines in residential buildings from December 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US is developing a TSCA risk management rule for PERC. PERC was one of the first ten chemicals to be subject to a risk evaluation under the amended 2016 law. When the risk management rule is finalized, it may preempt certain state legislation.