Dry cleaning dilemma

Perchloroethylene, a nonflammable, colorless liquid with a sharp, sweet odor, has been used for a half-century. It remains the cleaning agent of choice for about 85 percent of 30,000 dry cleaners operating in the United States and for the vast majority of Tucson's 30 dry cleaning businesses.

The chemical, known as "perc," has come under criticism the past two decades because of its toxic properties.

Alternatives have cropped up, promoted as "green," non-toxic and environmentally benign.

But regulators in California, who are tougher on toxic chemicals than most other states and the federal government, say the two most popular alternatives — hydrocarbon compounds and a silicon-based solvent — are either not totally safe or their safety is unproven.

California is promoting an alternative it calls safer — professional wet cleaning. While dry cleaners have long hand-washed some delicate garments, wet cleaning brings that process into the digital age, using computer-controlled washers and dryers and specialized finishing equipment.

But while the technology has made some headway in that region thanks largely to government subsidies, it has not yet caught on in Arizona. Few or no dry cleaning businesses here use it full time.

Toxicity well known

There is little disagreement among health experts that perc is hazardous. It can cause dizziness and skin, eye and respiratory-tract irritation, damage the central nervous system, liver and kidneys, cause reproduction and childhood-development problems, and has caused cancer in animal studies.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a probable cancer-causer in humans. The Environmental Protection Agency calls it a toxic air pollutant and a possible-to-probable human carcinogen.

While the chemical is known to have polluted groundwater and outdoor air around the country, some research is showing that its biggest risk is to the people who get their clothes dry cleaned in it.

Studies of 800 people in eight U.S. cities found that about 64 percent of peoples' exposure to perchloroethylene comes from wearing or storing dry-cleaned clothes, says a new textbook on chemical exposures called "Exposure Analysis."

A 1990s study said perchloroethylene levels inside homes increased 100 times after dry-cleaned clothes were brought home, decreased when the clothes were removed and increased again when put back.

California has ordered a perc phase-out by the 2020s.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality lacks authority to ban perc, with its spokesman Tom Marcinko saying, "It's a matter for the Legislature."

"Perc will be outlawed here before long. It's not good for the environment," said Phyllis Beck, manager of two Comet Cleaners and two Sun Dry Cleaners in Tucson that replaced perc with a hydrocarbon-based solvent more than a year ago.

But Heath Bolin, owner of Sparkle Cleaners, said his company uses perc safely, with containment pans under the cleaning machines. The company re-uses 90 percent of its perc, he said. When customers get the clothes back there is no perc left in them because when the clothes dry the solvent evaporates, he said.

"I have looked at a lot of different options, but the ones that have come out so far have not worked as well," Bolin said. "Will I switch eventually because of EPA regulations? The answer is yes, but I want to make sure it works as well for my customers as it can."

Palo Verde Cleaners at 5620 E. Speedway hangs perc-cleaned clothes on the line for 24 hours before giving them to the customer, to eliminate the chance that customers will be exposed to residues, said owner George Pappas.

"It all depends on the operator. All solvents are safe, as long as you know how to use them," Pappas said. "If you don't know how to use them, it is not safe."

Hydrocarbons, which are petroleum-based, are considered non-toxic by California regulators but can mix with other compounds in the air to form ozone, which causes respiratory problems and eye irritation.

They are significantly more flammable than perc. But some varieties, including the kind used by the nine Tucson Shaffer Dry Cleaning & Laundry stores, are less flammable than others, an EPA study says.

Owner Bake Shaffer said he switched from perc to hydrocarbon-based cleaning in 1998. He markets his hydrocarbon product as a "green" cleaner, and he said he's never heard that it was a significant contributor to ozone pollution. He calls hydrocarbon cleaners "magnitudes less toxic than perc and much more docile than gasoline."

Then there is the silicon-based solvent D5, an odorless, colorless liquid used to dry clean clothes under the name of GreenEarth. That's also the name of a Kansas City-based company that sells the rights to use the compound to dry cleaners worldwide, including the two Tom Roof Cleaners stores in Tucson.

D5 contains no organic chemicals, and initial studies showed it to be non-toxic. It is non-irritating to skin and like hydrocarbons doesn't fall under any U.S. environmental laws.

It had previously been used for decades in personal care items such as underarm deodorants, cosmetics, shampoos and creams, said Tim Maxwell, GreenEarth president.

The privately held company has 1,200 locations worldwide, slightly more than 600 in the United States, and adds stores at the rate of about 25 percent annually.

The solvent has brought Tom Roof more business — 15 to 18 percent more since the two stores introduced it in May 2005.

But a 2003 industry-financed study concluded D5 raised cancer risks for rats. Rats injected with the highest levels of the solvent proved most likely to get cancer — five rat tumors at the highest exposures and one tumor at the lowest, said the study from Dow Corning, one of D5's three manufacturers.

But the research also indicates the cancer in the rats was caused by biological processes that don't occur in people, said a statement from the Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Council, an industry trade group based in Virginia.

In rats, exposure to extremely high doses of D5 caused uterine tumors by decreasing the release of progesterone from ovaries, the council said. This can't happen in people because control of the release of progesterone is different in humans, the statement said.

GreenEarth Cleaning stands behind the more than $30 million worth of manufacturer testing that indicates the product's safety, Maxwell said.

"I think over time (D5) will prove itself, that there is not going to be any type of hazard," said Tom Roof owner Scott Lukso. "I would not be bringing this chemical to our company if I thought it was a bad chemical. Perc is a lot worse."

Officials in California and at the EPA haven't signed off on D5's safety. The EPA is awaiting more information from the manufacturers before doing a formal analysis of the compound's risks. Because of the cancer study, California regulators have also halted subsidies they had been giving dry cleaners that use D5.

Customers satisfied

As for wet cleaning, a study from California released this year calls it the most commercially practical, non-toxic alternative to perc. Seven Southern California cleaners were paid $12,000 apiece by researchers at Occidental College to convert to wet cleaning.

The study concluded customers were satisfied; very few switched to another cleaner.

The wet cleaning cost cleaners less than perc to buy, operate and maintain equipment. The wet cleaning equipment lasted longer. Electricity use and bills dropped, hazardous-waste disposal costs were eliminated, and water use did not significantly change. Detergent costs rose, though.

But in Arizona, cleaning businesses are still skittish about wet cleaning: its costs, technical feasibility and water use. There are about 80 full-time wet cleaners nationally, including 62 in California.

Tucson's Shaffer, however, said full-time wet cleaning is a problem because it is hard to avoid shrinkage and would use a lot of water in the desert — concerns the California study said weren't backed up by research.

But if Arizona had California's incentives for wet cleaning, "we're talking a whole different ballgame," Shaffer said. "Yes, it would be more attractive."

Consider airing items cleaned with 'perc'

If you get your clothes dry cleaned at a store that uses perchloroethylene, or "perc," air out the clothes for a time to let the chemical dissipate before hanging them in your closet, the EPA recommends.

Two days should be enough in Arizona's hot, dry air, said Lance Wallace, a retired EPA official.

If your clothes smell like chemicals when you pick them up, do not accept them until they have been properly dried, the EPA says. Tests show even clothes without odors may have "perc" traces, Wallace said.

But Heath Bolin, owner of Sparkle Cleaners in Tucson, which uses "perc" in its 16 stores, disagreed with the EPA's advice about airing clothes out at home. He said the clothes have no odor once they're cleaned, indicating the chemical has dissipated. Tests inside a local Sparkle store found no perc emissions, even directly above dry-cleaned clothes, Bolin said.