Source: Ecology, Environment & Conservation, October 21, 2011
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
In July, it was reported in the Marin Independent Journal that former business owners of a retail store filed a lawsuit against their past landlords in Fairfax, California. The suit alleges that the property owners knew of improperly disposed of perchloroethylene at the shopping center. The chemical was reportedly the result of another tenant that had operated a dry cleaning business that generated the toxic waste.
The chemical began producing a noticeable odor that resulted in the plaintiff’s hiring professionals to identify the source of the mystery odors. Perchloroethylene (PERC), a colorless and nonflammable liquid, was discovered. The largest traditional user of PERC in the U.S. is the dry cleaning industry.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Exposure to perchloroethylene (PERC) can occur in the workplace or in the environment following releases to air, water, land, or groundwater.” PERC contamination can also result in vapor intrusion. Vapor intrusion occurs when volatile chemicals emit vapors that migrate through subsurface soils and into indoor air spaces of buildings in ways similar to that of radon gas seeping into homes.
“Perchloroethylene is on California’s Proposition 65 list of carcinogenic chemicals,” reported David Broadbent, Technical Director of CSC Targhee, Inc., a Clark Seif Clark (CSC) subsidiary. “Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. Environmental testing can identify its presence and prevent potentially dangerous exposure to this chemical.”
CSC has sponsored an online video to help educate the public about potential hazards that can occur due to vapor intrusion. It can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TLCXmehOwE