KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Michigan State Representative Julie Rogers of Kalamazoo introduced House Bill 6511 with bipartisan support on Thursday, November 10 to phase out perchloroethylene dry cleaning solvent.
Perchloroethylene, known as PERC or TCE, is a carcinogenic and neurotoxic solvent that has been released into the air, groundwater and soil at the sites of most dry cleaners, and it’s associated with negative health effects, including decreased cognitive performance for those who live near them.
“I served on my county’s brownfield authority for over a decade using taxpayer money to clean up dry cleaning sites contaminated by PERC,” said Rogers. “Now, as a state legislator, I have introduced this bill to put a stop to the problem at its source. Cleaning our clothes doesn’t have to make our state dirtier.”
House Bill 6511 would phase out the use of PERC in stages to enable an orderly shift to safer alternatives. Under the bill, manufacturing of PERC dry cleaning fluid would end by December of 2027.
The sale of PERC dry cleaning fluid itself would end in June 2028 with the use of PERC for dry cleaning ending by December of 2028.
The bill would also set up a transition fund to assist dry cleaners with the cost of changing to new cleaning methods.
If House Bill 6511 becomes law, Michigan would be the third state to require dry cleaners to shift from PERC to safer dry cleaning processes.
