Concerns about the potential adverse health effects of methylene chloride, one of the most widely-used active ingredients in paint and varnish strippers, are unjustified.
Animal studies and epidemiological investigations of almost 6,000 workers occupationally exposed to the chemical had shown no link between methylene chloride exposure and human mortality by cancer or other disease.
Chlorinated solvents, including methylene chloride, had been the focus of health concerns over the past 20 years, but there has been an over-reaction to very legitimate concerns in some areas.
Consumer uses of methylene chloride have rightly been considered by regulatory authorities in order to ensure that the public is not at risk.
Methylene chloride is the most widely-used chlorinated solvent in the world. It is a commonly used solvent in paint stripping. In food and pharmaceutical processes, it is used as an extraction medium and for tablet coating. Other uses include aerosol formulations, photoresist stripping in the production of printed circuit boards and vapour degreasing to remove oils, grease and soils from metal surfaces.
