What the dichloromethane ban might mean for university labs in the US
By 
Rebecca Trager2024-05-23T13:30:00
The lab use requirements outlined in the agency’s workplace chemical protection plan are impractical for academic institutions, the ACS says
A rule recently finalised by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will ban most uses of dichloromethane (DCM), also known as methylene chloride, could cause problems for research labs.
Under the new regulation, consumer use of DCM will be phased out within a year, and most industrial and commercial uses will be prohibited within two years. However, certain applications of the chemical will be allowed to continue with strict worker safety oversight, including its use as a laboratory chemical. These uses come with stringent exposure limits – monitoring requirements, as well as worker training and notification obligations, which will place an additional burden on academic labs.
DCM is probably one of the top five solvents used in academic labs, according to Russ Phifer, former chair of the American Chemical Society (ACS) division of chemical health and safety and executive director of the National Registry of Certified Chemists. He notes that it is used for purification, extraction and as a solvent for many chemical processes.