Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits sale of paint or coating removal products that contain methylene chloride unless purchaser meets certain safety standards for use.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning paint and coating removal products that contain methylene chloride and supplementing Title 24 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No person shall sell or offer for sale in the State any paint or coating removal product that contains methylene chloride (dichloromethane) except as provided in subsection b. of this section.
b. A person may sell a paint or coating removal product that contains methylene chloride (dichloromethane) to a person who can demonstrate to the seller that the product will be used only by persons with safety equipment, training on the use of that equipment, and proper handling instructions for methylene chloride consistent with the requirements of 29 C.F.R. s.1910.1051.
c. A person who violates this section shall be liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation, to be collected in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. The municipal court and the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999.” The Department of Health or any local health agency may institute a civil action for injunctive relief to enforce this act and to prevent a violation of its provisions, and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner.
2. This act shall take effect one year after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the sale of paint or coating removal products that contain methylene chloride (also called dichloromethane) except under certain circumstances. The bill allows person to sell a paint or coating removal product that contains methylene chloride (dichloromethane) to a person who can demonstrate to the seller that the product will be used only by persons with safety equipment, training on the use of that equipment, and proper handling instructions for methylene chloride consistent with the standards in 29 C.F.R. s.1910.1051.
Methylene chloride is a solvent that is used in a variety of industries and applications, including adhesives, paint and coating removal products, pharmaceuticals, metal cleaning, and chemical processing. In January 2017, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule under the federal “Toxic Substances Control Act” to prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal and most types of commercial paint and coating removal.
Prior to issuing the proposed rule, the EPA had evaluated health risks to consumers and workers using methylene chloride in paint and coating removal products as well as bystanders in residences and workplaces where the chemical is used. Paint and coating removal products pose some of the highest exposures among the various uses of methylene chloride. According to the EPA, the effects of short-term exposure to workers, consumers, and bystanders include harm to the central nervous system. Effects of exposure over longer periods include liver toxicity, liver cancer, and lung cancer. The EPA has determined that methylene chloride is a probable human carcinogen.
Since January 2017, however, the EPA has indefinitely postponed action on its proposed rule concerning methylene chloride. In order to protect the health and safety of consumers, workers, and bystanders in New Jersey, this bill would ban the sale or offer for sale in the State of any paint or coating removal product that contains methylene chloride. Any person who violates the bill’s provisions would be liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues would constitute a separate offense.