Dry cleaners get a 10-year grace period before banning a common chemical

US environmental regulators will not update air pollution rules for dry cleaners using perchloroethylene. This decision comes because a separate rule already phases out the chemical over the next decade, making new air rules unnecessary.

The US environmental regulators had planned to tighten air pollution standards for dry cleaners. But another agency already decided to ban the chemical entirely. This means dry cleaners get a 10-year reprieve from new air quality rules, even though the chemical is a known health hazard. The industry will eventually have to switch to different cleaning methods.