Global chemicals company phasing out toxic chemical used in finishes for wood flooring and cabinets

Royal DSM, the global chemical coatings company, announced  that it would phase out the toxic chemical N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) by July 2020 as part of the company’s new sustainability strategy. NMP is currently used in the company’s coatings used to protect wood flooring and cabinets. The company has also committed to “phase out all chemicals of high concern from our finished products by 2025.”

In response, Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ Mind the Store campaign director Mike Schade issued the following statement:

“We commend Royal DSM for taking this bold step to safeguard consumers and workers worldwide from this dangerous chemical. Other major chemical companies should join DSM in phasing out this toxic solvent in wood coatings and other products. Just as retailers are phasing out NMP in paint removal products, they should remove NMP from other products that consumers and workers come in contact with, such as wood floor and cabinet finishes.

The leadership of the business community must be supported by strong safeguards at the state and federal level. The Trump EPA should stop dragging its feet and finalize the long-delayed ban on ‎NMP in paint removal products and move forward on restricting NMP in other uses such as wood coatings.”

NMP is a hazardous chemical whose safety is being reviewed by the U.S. EPA under the reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In January 2017, the EPA proposed banning NMP in paint removal products, but the Trump EPA has since shelved the proposal. Over the past year, thirteen major retailers, including Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Walmart, and Amazon, have pledged to ban the sale of paint removal products containing NMP and methylene chloride.

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