The problem is, the companies who make the products using these compounds are usually fully aware of the risks they pose to the consumer.
The regulatory agencies are purposefully kept in the dark about the risks of these chemicals, and only find out after people are already sick.
Once the agencies learn of the possible health hazards, implementing actual regulations takes years. It was 8 years ago that the EPA started looking into the risks of NMP, and it is only just now that they are proposing regulation.
All the while, the manufacturers are enriching themselves off these hazardous products and will likely see little to no consequences or liability for the damage done to public health.
Box store retailers knew about this stuff in 2018. NMP & methylene chloride paint strippers implicated in “dozens of accidental deaths”.
It’s astonishing how far behind the EPA is in meaningfully regulating hazardous chemicals.
They’ve learned next to nothing since PFOA and PFAS.
US law tends to operate that way — you can use a chemical until it’s widely known to be a problem.
The problem is, the companies who make the products using these compounds are usually fully aware of the risks they pose to the consumer.
The regulatory agencies are purposefully kept in the dark about the risks of these chemicals, and only find out after people are already sick.
Once the agencies learn of the possible health hazards, implementing actual regulations takes years. It was 8 years ago that the EPA started looking into the risks of NMP, and it is only just now that they are proposing regulation.
All the while, the manufacturers are enriching themselves off these hazardous products and will likely see little to no consequences or liability for the damage done to public health.