Wednesday, 19th November 2008
MEP rejects paint stripper ban
Scots Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson warns that paint stripper could soon become a thing of the past if the European Commission’s proposed ban of consumer and professional use of dichloromethane (DCM), the key ingredient of 90% of all paint removers currently on the market, comes to fruition.
Current UK controls of DCM involve over 70 rigorous tests to ensure they are safe to use. There have been no consumer fatalities from the use of DCM over the EU in the last 20 years.
Speaking from the European Parliament, Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson said:
“It is totally unacceptable that the Commission want to ban 90% of all paint removers yet have conducted hardly any research into the supposed dangers of DCM in the UK and none at all in other EU countries. A change in law would cost the UK between £31m and £220 million a year not to mention increased health and safety risks from alternative measures that have not been thoroughly tested.
“In the UK, we have had not one fatality from using DCM yet there have been over 200 fatalities resulting from other methods of paint removal such as the use of blow torches and hot-air guns, which account for over 200 accidents in the UK anually. Among other alternatives to DCM suggested by the Commission are NMP, known to harm reproduction, flammable solvents and the date rape drug, Gamma butyrolactone. This senseless proposal will only force consumers to opt for alternative methods with unknown risks.”
