The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has postponed the enforcement of its rule banning two chemicals, trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), used in manufacturing and commercial processes. This delay follows the president's executive order titled "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review."
A notice published in the Federal Register indicates that the new implementation date for these bans is set for March 21. The executive order issued by President Donald Trump instructed agencies to halt the implementation of pending or finalized rules not yet in effect until reviewed by newly appointed department heads.
Under the Biden administration, on December 9, the EPA finalized rules prohibiting TCE, a solvent found in consumer and commercial products such as cleaning agents, degreasers, brake cleaners, sealants, lubricants, adhesives, paints and coatings, and used in manufacturing some refrigerants.
PCE is another solvent used commercially in applications like dry cleaning and petroleum manufacturing. The EPA aimed to implement a 10-year phase-out of PCE in commercial dry cleaning operations and banned its use in newly acquired dry cleaning machines after six months.
The EPA estimated that implementing changes related to TCE would cost industries up to $102.4 million over 20 years. For PCE-related changes, costs could reach up to $43.4 million over the same period.
These rules were initially scheduled for implementation earlier this month but have been delayed due to regulatory review procedures.
