Perchlorethylene, a substance considered carcinogenic used in dry cleaning, is tending to disappear, replaced by solvents whose stability is still not proven.
As the Minister of Ecology Ségolène Royal wished, perchlorethylene is gradually disappearing from the 4000 dry cleaners installed in France. Considered a carcinogen for users and neighbors of stores, this very volatile substance used for dry cleaning is most often replaced by petroleum solvents.
But for the National Federation of Textile Maintenance (Fnet), they are not without risks either: they can be very easily flammable and cause many explosions. Since 2012, five such incidents have been recorded.
Risk of explosions with new solvents
At present, nearly 300 dry cleaners already use these solvents. A real danger for Jean Tomaseli, the president of the Fnet. Hydrocarbon-based solvents do, of course, eliminate all dangers for neighbors, but they are much more dangerous than percholoethylene. Imagine an explosion occurs in a residential area, the consequences could be dramatic, ”he says. Facts corroborated by a CRAMIF report which explained that the use of these products had to be scrupulously supervised. In addition to its flammability, it is responsible for disorders in the user in the event of prolonged inhalation: dizziness, vomiting.
The Fnet and the hundred or so craftsmen it represents are asking for independent expertise which, according to them, has never taken place. “Our profession is the victim of prejudices, no one really knows the effects of a particular product on the health of workers,” says Jean Tomaseli.
It is in this sense that the Federation has decided to write to the public prosecutor and the Ministry of Labor. Their objective is to prove that these new working conditions do not offer more security than before.
A bit like the French situation, the German health authorities also wanted to replace “perchlo” with these solvents. The experiment was not very conclusive. Very quickly, employees of different dry cleaners who all used the technique of “blowing clothes”, complained of allergies. Indeed, the components of these solvents are much heavier, so they cannot escape into the open air and fall directly into the workpiece.
It is moreover this phenomenon which would also be at the base of several explosions. “The new generation machines are not yet adapted to these new products”, explains Jean Tomaseli.
No more perchlorethylene by 2022
The owners of dry cleaners therefore find themselves in a dead end. Indeed, if the presence of perchlorethylene is detected in a home located near a dry cleaning establishment, the prefect will have to put in place “rapid actions” so that professionals comply with the concentrations recommended by the High Council for Public Health.
The government’s goal is to eradicate the percho for good by 2022.
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