Conventional dry cleaners rely on perc, a powerful degreaser commonly used to clean heavy machinery, to remove spots and stains from clothes. It is classified as a hazardous air pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency, and a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Nonetheless, it has remained the industry standard.
Many women wear dry cleaned clothes every day.
We need to know if the chemicals that clean these clothes may lead to breast cancer. Researchers for the non-profit Silent Spring Institute randomly questioned 1,350 women between the ages of 35 and 75 from Newton, Massachusetts. They found that women in neighborhoods with higher rates of breast cancer typically had higher incomes and education levels than women in areas of lower breast cancer rates. Known risk factors, including family history, accounted for only a small part of the differences between areas. Rep. Maloney also cited studies by the New York State Department of Health that show elevated air concentrations of perc in apartments located above dry cleaners in New York City.