Workers and consumers have suffered serious injuries or death after using toxic paint strippers containing Methylene Chloride. The toxin is linked to hundreds of ER visits and multiple deaths each year.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 14 workers have died of methylene chloride poisoning since 2000. The CDC urges that work areas must be Workplace Ventilation Risks when levels of methylene chloride exceed exposure limits, and urge workers to use respiratory protective equipment, such as tight-fitting, full-face, supplied-air respirators.
Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is used in various industrial processes, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing, paint remover manufacturing, and metal cleaning and degreasing, even with severe risks of dangerous inhalation and skin exposure.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) passed stricter regulations regarding occupational use of methylene chloride in 1997, but these laws don’t protect self-employed individuals or private consumers who willingly purchase methylene chloride products.
Lawyers allege that consumers are not given Toxic Exposure Attorney of certain products. OSHA considers methylene chloride to be a potential occupational carcinogen.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Personal Injury Lawyer who has represented individuals nationwide in workplace injury toxic exposure and toxic tort claims.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced new limitations on uses of methylene chloride, and said the chemical presents an unreasonable risk to consumers and workers.
Officials note that methylene chloride, commonly found in paint strippers, is linked to more than 50 deaths since the 1980s. Chemical safety experts have called for a significant reduction in commercial and consumer use.
The new EPA regulation prohibits the manufacture and use of consumer products containing methylene chloride, but stops short of banning it for commercial use, leaving a wide range of workers still vulnerable to inhalation injuries and associated cancer risks.
The move by the EPA may be a little too late, according to safety advocates, and thousands of workers around the nation have been injured by the chemical and have since filed methylene chloride lawsuits on the basis of companies selling an extremely hazardous chemical when safer alternatives are available
Toxic solvents are used in a number of different industries and applications, including:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated and identified certain health risks to consumers and workers. Studies show that paint and coating removal pose some of the highest exposures among the various solvent uses. The EPA has moved to limit use in consumer paint stripping products.
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The effects of short-term exposures to workers and consumers can result in serious harm to central nervous systems, and neurotoxicity. Effects of longer periods of chronic exposure for workers includes liver toxicity, liver cancer, and lung cancer. The EPA has proposed to ban the use of methylene chloride in all paint and coating removal products for consumer and most commercial uses.
People using paint and coating solvents should follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and any product containing methylene chloride should be used outdoors. If the work must occur indoor, proper ventilation and personal safety equipment is a must.
Consumer and workers are generally injured when using methylene chloride products in a poorly-ventilated area or without proper protection. Signs of chemical poisoning include:
Health authorities say dozens of people have died from exposure to solvents and toxins. OSHA issued a warning to workers of the dangers after a recent death from exposure to the chemical. In the death report, a worker was using a paint stripper to remove bathtub coating solution containing 90 percent methylene chloride. The worker was found unconscious and dead of asphyxiation with acute toxicity.
OSHA advises employers to use safer chemical alternatives, or to follow OSHA standards:
Skin contact should be minimized by using gloves made of polyethylene vinyl alcohol and ethylene vinyl alcohol (PVA/EVA), which are resistant to toxic absorption. Other types of gloves are not recommended for use with solvents, including latex, nitrile, neoprene, polyethylene, and butyl rubber gloves.
Thus far, many retailers have removed paint stripping products containing methylene chloride. However, since commercial use of the chemical is still not banned, workers are still at risk of developing respiratory illnesses or related cancers.
Wrongful death cases of paint strippers and bathtub refinishers have brought some awareness to the dangers of the chemical, though workplace injury risks make methylene chloride lawsuits a necessary challenge for injured workers. The level of toxic exposure varies, and typically depends upon the duration of exposure and level of ventilation in a work area.
Toxic exposure cases help empower employees to fight for their right to be protected, satisfactorily informed, and to stay safe. They also bring awareness to challenge and higher the expectations of companies who are not serving their employees justly.
The Lyon Firm aggressively, professionally, and passionately advocates for injured individuals and families against companies due to a defective product or recalled product to obtain just compensation under the law.
(Hamilton County, Ohio): Confidential Settlement. Lead Counsel in a case that involved secondary lead exposure to two children. Their father worked at a local recycling plant that routinely recycled computer equipment. The company violated numerous OSHA regulations related to providing safety equipment and clothing to prevent lead particles from being transferred home. As a result, the Plaintiffs father transferred lead dust to his children who then suffered lead poisoning. The case was covered extensively by the Cincinnati news media and referenced in peer-reviewed medical literature. The settlement will provide educational needs to the children who suffered neurological injuries due the exposure.
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