Drycleaners Object to Cal. Gov’s Manipulation of PERC Issue If one California regulatory agency has its way the cost of doing business will soar for hundreds of drycleaners in Southern California, simultaneously raising consumers' costs and jeopardizing many cleaners' ability to even remain in business.

In its determination to impose a ban on perchloroethylene, or perc, the most commonly used cleaning solvent by drycleaners, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) apparently is not content to let the facts speak for themselves and instead has resorted to scare tactics that have unfairly maligned the drycleaning industry in an attempt to manipulate public opinion into supporting its position.

That is the only conclusion IFI can come to after South Coast's executive director, Barry Wallerstein, told the Associated Press that the average person's largest exposure to carcinogenic air contaminants is "a drycleaner in their community--other than diesel exhaust."

IFI strongly denounces South Coast's scare tactics and rebukes the agency's claim that perc is estimated to cause more cases of cancer than anything except diesel exhaust among the toxic substances in the Los Angeles region's air. For all of the regulatory oversight of perc over the years, there is considerable evidence that perc most likely is not a human carcinogen.

If the SCAQMD gets its way it will have imposed an unnecessary ban limiting how drycleaners in the four-county district can operate their businesses. Whether there would be any improvements to air quality in the smog-laden Los Angeles area district is widely contested by industry groups. The only virtual certainty is that compliance with the ban will drive the costs of drycleaning services up for Southern California consumers.

What should have been a rational, reasonable review of perc based on accurate science and perc-usage data and input from the drycleaning industry instead has deteriorated into an attempt by SCAQMD to manipulate public opinion to garner support for what the totality of scientific research won't support--a ban on perc in its four-county Southern California district.

"In our opinion, a number of California regulators intuitively decided that perc is bad and then set about pulling together what has often been bad data to support their contention," said Bill Fisher, CEO of the International Fabricare Institute, the leading trade association for drycleaners in the U.S. "If South Coast would weigh all the evidence and evaluate perc based on sound science and its long history, we feel that the only conclusion South Coast could logically come to is to forgo a complete ban on perc. For some reason, though, this agency remains unwilling or unable to move away from its flawed assumptions and instead has chosen to move this issue from the scientific arena into the court of public opinion."

For California drycleaners this is nothing new. "This is another example of a California regulatory agency taking actions that in our opinion are inconsistent with good science," Fisher said.

If it seems like the drycleaning industry is acting overly outraged, consider that:

· "California is the only state in the United States that designates perc as a supposed known human carcinogen, which is totally at odds with the evaluation of U.S. EPA's independent Science Advisory Board, comprised of some of the best scientists from across the country, who feel that perc is neither a known nor probable human carcinogen," Fisher said.

· The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorizes perc as a possible human carcinogen because, like the once banned saccharin, perc was found to cause tumors in rats. Despite these findings, the EPA's Science Advisory Board concluded that this animal data could not be extrapolated to support that similar results would occur in humans. In fact, the Science Advisory Board considered that the tumors that occurred in the rats during testing might be unique to the metabolic process of rodents, which is decisively different than that in humans. Moreover, further testing showed that perc did not cause the genetic damage usually associated with carcinogens.

· The North Carolina Occupational & Environmental Epidemiology Branch, in a report dated February 2, 2002, concluded, “There is no credible scientific evidence to support claims that perc or petroleum drycleaning solvents cause cancer in humans,” and “Neither Perc nor petroleum, as they are currently used and regulated in the drycleaning industry, pose a significant health risk to the general population.”

· When the California Air Resources Board proposed changing perc's designation from possible to a known human carcinogen part of the process for making a determination was a public hearing. IFI CEO Bill Fisher, then serving as the Institute's top government affairs person, testified at what was supposed to be 13 hours of public testimony intended to help CARB make a decision on perc. Eight hours into the hearing--before any deliberations could take place and before the hearing was even complete--CARB employees in the back of the hearing room began stacking up copies of the agency's already-printed decision declaring perc to be a known human carcinogen. Such actions demonstrated an unconscionable and unwarranted rush to judgment, and judging by South Coast's actions to date and Mr. Wallerstein's comments to the Associated Press, that same kind of "pass judgment first, ask questions later" government regulation is taking place here.

· Unlike every other regulatory body in the U.S., including the EPA, CARB uses mouse data instead of available human data so it can make its calculations of possible risk 12 times higher than any other U.S. agency has. One well-done study of the metabolism of perc clearly identified a mechanism that explains the mice-rat-man data--specifically, that a protein (alpha 2u-globulin) that is present in high levels in mice and at low levels in rats and that is non-existent in humans interacts with perc when it is being metabolized in the body, and it is this interaction that leads to cancer. This study has been peer-reviewed and published by the U.S. EPA and fits within the results found in mice, rats, and humans.

· Despite repeated testimony and evidence submitted by the drycleaning industry, South Coast continues to grossly overestimate perc drycleaners' air emissions. The critical difference between what SCAQMD estimates verses the drycleaning industry's own data regarding perc use and air emissions is the amount of solvent that is left in the various perc waste streams. Today's drycleaning machinery is simply more efficient because of new and revived technologies for filtering and distilling solvent. Most newer fourth- and fifth-generation equipment does not use cartridge filters, which can typically contain nearly one gallon of solvent even after draining. The use of cartridge filters in older machines reduces a cleaners overall solvent mileage and still does not contribute to air emissions because the solvent is recycled by a hazardous materials recycler.

"We don't go around foolishly making claims that perc is definitely not a human carcinogen and we recognize that there are test results that fall on both sides of the ledger," Fisher said, "but if you look at all of the information in total we believe that it strongly indicates that perc is not a human carcinogen. South Coast is trying to raise hysteria by presenting only part of the evidence, and what we think is needed are further scientifically credible tests to settle this debate--and that's what should give the answer."

South Coast's board is expected to vote on the proposed ban on perc as early as November 1. IFI believes that the goal of reducing emissions can be done without unduly burdening the drycleaning industry. The Institute urges SCAQMD to promulgate a fair and reasonable standard, if necessary, and stands ready to continue to work with the agency as it reviews the proposed amendment to Rule 1421.

The International Fabricare Institute is the leading trade association of professional drycleaners, wetcleaners, and launderers. A not-for-profit association, IFI supports its approximately 7,000 members through education, research, legislative representation, and other services. IFI's headquarters are located at 12251 Tech Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904, (301) 622-1900.