Dow's doubts
Barton link to OSHA is questioned
Perc producers are lukewarm to Barton bill, Dow says in newsletter
The following article was published in the summer 1997 issue of Spot News published by Dow Chemical Company
A new bill introduced in Congress by representative Joe Barton (Republican, Texas) promises to solve many of the problems drycleaners face regarding liability for perchloroethylene clean-up. The "Small Business Remediation Act," commonly known as the Barton Bill, would raise the clean-up standard for soil and groundwater to a much more realistic level than is now in use.
Because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not set a clean-up standard for perc, the Safe Drinking Water Act standard of 5 parts per billion (ppb) is often applied to cleanups. Unfortunately, this level is almost impossible to attain with present technology, and would in most circumstances be prohibitively expensive. As a result, landlords and bankers often shun drycleaners because they do not want to incur the potential remedial costs, which could happen under various federal, state and local environmental laws.
If the Barton Bill becomes law, this situation would change. The clean-up standard for perc would be drastically increased, to a level set at 10 percent of the permissible exposure limit (PEL) set for the workplace by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Since the current PEL stands at 100 parts per million (ppm), or 100,000 ppb, the clean-up standard would he set at 10 ppm -- 2,000 times higher than the present level. Sites with perc contamination exceeding this level would have to be cleaned up to the Barton Bill level -- a much more feasible proposition than currently exists.
Of course, should OSHA change the PEL for perc, the clean-up standard under the Barton Bill would change accordingly.
Reactions to the Bill
How has the drycleaning industry reacted to this proposed legislation? The International Fabricare Institute (IFI) has thrown in its support, according to CEO Bill Fisher. "IFI was the first national association to endorse the Barton Bill, and IFI continues to stand by that commitment," he says. "IFI hopes to work with other industry leaders and organizations to inform drycleaners about the Barton Bill and legislative efforts, and to assist in fund-raising efforts."
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International (NCA-I) has also pledged to support the new legislation, but primarily as an introduction to further regulatory changes. Bill Seitz, executive director of NCA-I, feels that the Barton Bill is not as comprehensive as he would like. "However, it is the only pending or proposed legislation that deals with the excessive and, often, unnecessary clean-up costs," he says. "If we are successful in passing the Barton Bill, it opens up the possibility of future legislation or amendments that would increase the protection the drycleaner requires to stay in business."
The producers of perchloroethylene are less enthusiastic about the pending legislation. According to Steve Risotto, executive director of the Center for Emissions Control, an organization representing The Dow Chemical Company and other perc producers, "The producers do not agree with the Barton Bill's premise that the clean-up level for perc can be related to the occupational limits. There's just no scientific or political basis for comparing the two limits. The perc producers believe that clean-up levels should be based on the use of cost-effective technologies and on the intended use of the land in question."
"The problem with the existing system, which is based on EPAs standard for drinking water, is that it is not based on evidence of specific health effects that could result from exposure to such low levels, or on the capability of remediation technology," Risotto says. "It also tends to treat all sites equally. The remediation programs in Florida and a few other states appear to be making considerable progress in prioritizing contaminated sites for clean-up."
Perhaps the best that can be said about the Barton Bill is, in the words of Bill Seitz of NCA-I, that it is "the only game in town, at least on the federal level." On this basis, it may be worth supporting.
A model for federal legislation was developed several years ago by drycleaning industry representatives, but has yet to find a Congressional sponsor. This model proposes a bill similar to Florida legislation, which provides a state-administered fund for clean-ups. The fund is collected by taxing perc and drycleaning/laundry receipts, and charging an annual registration fee for drycleaning corporations. This state legislation has taken a great deal of uncertainty off the minds of Florida drycleaners, as a federal ruling would do for drycleaners nationwide.
