What is Eco-Clean?
Eco-cleaning is an environmentally friendly way of cleaning garments.
Also known as "GreenClean", the eco-clean system is based on water
rather than toxic chemicals.
What is perc?
Perchloroethylene, also commonly known as perc, is a toxic chemical
solvent used in dry cleaning. It has been classified by the U.S.
Environmental Agency (EPA) as "a Hazardous Air Pollutant"
under the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act. Perc can cause nervous problems,
infertility and bladder and cervix diseases.
Why is perc bad?
Here is an article from
ACSH that proves that perc is a health hazard.
"A 1992 opinion piece in The New York Times
labelled perc as "highly toxic" and called upon New York's city
government to "remove all the city's cleaners from apartment
buildings." That same year Consumer Reports claimed that "You're likely
to be exposed to some level of perc simply by wearing recently
dry-cleaned clothes or storing them in your house." "The consequences
of perc's wanderings can range from general ill health to cancer and
birth defects for workers, consumers and people who live near dry
cleaners," according to Greenpeace, which has also cited claims that
dry-cleaned clothing "placed in a closed car next to a bag of groceries
has contaminated food in less than one hour." "
from "How Clean is Dry
Cleaning? — The Risks of Perchloroethylene
by Jonathan H. Adler
Volume 8 No. 1 1997
Below are more examples of
intoxication caused by perc in another article:
"A 1989 study in Finland of 3,000 women
showed an increased risk for spontaneous abortions in women who had
been exposed to perc at the beginning of their pregnancy with the
proportional risk increased three to four times.
"Perc is a common groundwater contaminant.
A report on
groundwater contamination in the UK lists Perc
as one of four
common solvents that pose a risk to groundwater
sources. The
report states that the number of incidences have
increased due to
accidental spillage or casual disposal.
The report warns that
"they are potentially a very serious form of
groundwater
pollution and even a small spill of a few litres
in volume could
in theory contaminate many millions of litres of
groundwater."
"The recycling of perc in drycleaning machines
produces dioxins which reinforces the fact that recycling of a
toxic compound is NOT clean technology. If incinerated
these residues will form dioxins and other products of incomplete
combustion."