Trump’s EPA to face lawsuit over delay in banning deadly paint strippers

Washington, D.C. - 2.11.2018 — Today, Latino workers, environmental and public health advocates, and the mothers of two young men who recently died from methylene chloride exposure notified the Trump administration of their intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its failure to finalize a ban on the use of this lethal chemical in paint strippers. Methylene chloride is responsible for more than 60 reported deaths, including at least four since EPA proposed banning methylene chloride paint strippers in January 2017.  However, the Trump EPA has violated its public commitments and legal obligations to finalize that ban.

“No parent should ever have to bury their child. No one else should have to go through what I’m going through because of a paint removal product. The EPA must get these products off store shelves,” said Lauren Atkins, whose 31-year-old son Joshua died from methylene chloride exposure on February 12, 2018.

“One life is one too many to have been lost to this deadly chemical. We have lost loved ones due to the chemical industry’s and the EPA’s inaction to ban methylene chloride. Retailers have stepped up to save lives. How many more people will the EPA allow to die before they ban methylene chloride?” said Wendy Hartley, whose 21-year-old son Kevin died from methylene chloride exposure on April 28, 2017.

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