No, this isn't a promo for an upcoming National
Geographic special. It's a comment about personal injury lawyers
and dry cleaners.
You've seen the late night TV ads: If you or a loved one have
such and such disease or have been taking such and such drug, you
need to immediately contact the law firm of Shyster and Shark.
It appears that personal injury lawyers may have tired of
chasing ambulances. Now they're salivating at the thought of
targeting dry cleaners who clean in
perchloroethylene (aka perc) or who have cleaned in perc in the
past. Especially in the light of a report by the National Academy of Sciences in
February 2010 labeling perc a "likely human carcinogen."
Here's some background ...
In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggested
that perc be classified as a "likely human carcinogen."
Moreover, the EPA found that perc's most dangerous noncancer effect
is brain and nervous system damage and set safe exposure levels
well below levels that cause such damage.
But rather than finalize the ruling, the EPA asked the National
Academy of Sciences to review it's perc risk analysis and to
confirm that it's system for analyzing chemical risk was
correct.
In February 2010, the National Academy of Sciences reported that
the EPA was basically correct. The Academy agreed that:
- The EPA's system for evaluating chemical risk was basically
sound, although procedures for evaluating the strength of relevant
studies needed to be strengthened.
- Perc is a "likely human carcinogen." This means that while
there's no definitive proof that the chemical causes cancer in
humans, there's strong evidence that it does.
- Perc's most dangerous noncancer effect is brain and nerve
system damage. The report recommended that safe exposure levels for
drinking water and air quality be set well above the levels that
can cause such damage.
In the light of the report by the National Academy of Sciences,
the personal injury lawyers are drooling at the mouth. Their
approach is predictable: locate an area that, according to federal
and state environmental authorities, has high concentrations of
perc in the soil and water, identify cleaners who are operating or
have operated in that area, and search for individuals who've lived
in that area for many years and who display health issues
symptomatic of exposure to high concentrations of perc.
Then, bring it all together in a lawsuit and hope that the
cleaner has great insurance coverage.
P.S. At RAVE FabriCARE, we don't dry clean in perc.
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