On October 14, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed giving some chemical plants and refrigerant makers more time to stop using trichloroethylene (TCE). This is a solvent that EPA banned for all uses in December 2024. The proposal does not reopen TCE for household products. In EPA's words, it extends two compliance dates "while keeping the TCE ban in place." The consumer part of the ban has already taken effect.
What EPA proposed
- Chemical processing: Processing TCE as a reactant or intermediate, using it as an industrial or commercial processing aid, and the related disposal to wastewater would get until December 31, 2027. The current deadline is December 18, 2026.
- Refrigerant manufacturing: Makers of the refrigerant HFC-134a, which uses TCE as a feedstock, would also get until December 31, 2027 for the first step of their phase-down. The current deadline is June 7, 2027.
- Why: EPA says the industry told it that byproduct TCE "is regularly transferred between sites during the manufacture of other chemicals." EPA also says HFC-134a makers need a longer transition period.
- Comments: The public can comment until November 13, 2026, in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2026-7327 on regulations.gov.
EPA has also said it intends to reconsider the 2024 TCE rule, which is being challenged in federal court. Any broader changes would come through a separate rulemaking.
What TCE is and where it was found
TCE is a volatile solvent used mostly in industry. EPA lists consumer uses that included "cleaning and furniture care products, arts and crafts spray coatings, and automotive care products like brake cleaners."
In its 2024 rule, EPA wrote that the most sensitive harms from TCE exposure are "fetal cardiac defects and autoimmunity." It also listed liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, neurotoxicity, immunosuppression, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and "cancer (liver, kidney, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma)." We first wrote about TCE in 2020, when Minnesota moved to ban it.
The consumer ban is already in effect
The 2024 rule bans the manufacture, processing and distribution of TCE for consumer use on these dates:
- Manufacturers, including importers: March 17, 2025
- Processors and distributors, including retailers: June 16, 2025
The October 2026 proposal does not change those dates. TCE products should no longer be sold for home use in the United States. Older cans can still sit in garages, workshops and basements for years, though.
Practical tips
- Check older cans. Look at brake cleaners, degreasers, spot removers and spray adhesives or coatings bought before mid-2025. TCE may be listed as trichloroethylene, trichloroethene or CAS number 79-01-6. The product's safety data sheet (SDS), usually on the maker's website, lists it if it is there.
- Don't pour it out or throw it in the trash. Take old solvent products to your local household hazardous waste collection site.
- Choose low-solvent options. Many household cleaning jobs can be done with water-based cleaners. If you have to use a solvent product, work outdoors or with strong ventilation, and keep it away from children and pregnant family members.
- Read cleaner labels for other solvents too. See our profile of 2-Butoxyethanol, a common cleaning-product solvent. You can also paste any ingredient list into our label checker.
