"U.S. Workers Remain at Risk From Potentially Deadly Paint-Removers"

"If you’re in the market for a paint remover and head to your local hardware store, most of the products you’re likely to find will contain methylene chloride. These products’ containers promise “professional results” – that they remove paint “in 10 minutes” – and that they are “specially formulated for antiques and fine furniture.” One called “Dad’s Easy Spray,” suggests it can be used to remove paint from fabrics and rugs. Also available are adhesive removers and “prepaint” products that contain methylene chloride. Some of these come in aerosol dispensers.

These products all carry hazard warnings that say “Danger!” and “Poison” along with cautionary statements about the chemical’s nervous system effects and the possibility that exposure can cause blindness, birth defects, cancer and respiratory harm. But there’s little – if anything – to suggest such products are so hazardous that they were responsible for at least 14 deaths in the United States between 2000 and 2011. Among those who died using these products was a man in Houston who was removing the finish from the walls of his bathroom; a worker removing paint from a church’s baptismal font; a worker hired to refinish an apartment bathtub; a worker cleaning a paint-mixing tank and the co-worker who tried to rescue him. Yet another such fatality occurred on December 16, 2014 when a worker in New York died while refinishing a bathtub."

Elizabeth Grossman reports for the Pump Handle January 20, 2015.