New England Director Cindy Luppi joined teen leaders from Medfield to meet with the Dedham Lowe’s manager. A Clean Water team visited the Lowe’s in Braintree and met with the store manager to share concerns about the dangerous chemicals. Massachusetts strapped on its boots and really showed up for the Lowe’s Week of Action in May. Now it’s time for other retailers to do the same.” The team plans to return to several local stores to thank Lowe’s for this recent announcement. Steve Schrag, lead organizer for ConnectiCOSH stated “This is a terrific first step to reduce worker exposure and deaths. In Connecticut, Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut members visited two Lowe’s stores, urging managers to stop selling deadly paint stripper products. My son shouldn’t have died this way and no one else should lose a loved one to these deadly products.”Ĭlean Water Action members and allies jumped into action these past months to urge action from the EPA and retailers alike. Retailers should protect their customers and stop selling these products. The EPA should protect Americans from methylene chloride and ban it in paint strippers. Joshua’s mother, Lauren Atkins, said, “Not one more mother should go through what I’ve been going through. Joshua Atkins, 31, died in February 2018 while refinishing his BMX bike with a paint stripper containing methylene chloride at his home in Pennsylvania. Methylene chloride made headlines across the country in the spring as families who lost loved ones after using paint strippers that contained the toxic chemical spoke out and urged action. The EPA and other big retailers like Home Depot will face more pressure to follow the lead of Lowe’s, to take action to protect the health of workers and families across the country. Action from Lowe’s will help protect families from coast to coast by the end of the year, immediately reducing exposure to these dangerous chemicals. It is the 8th biggest retailer, nationally.
Lowe’s is a major home improvement retailer with over 1,700 stores. NMP has been closely linked to developmental impacts including miscarriages. Methylene chloride is linked to several types of cancers as well as liver, kidney, and reproductive toxicity. Both methylene chloride and NMP are dangerous to consumers. In a statement released by Lowe’s, the company shared its motivation for taking action: “We care deeply about the health and safety of our customers, and great progress is being made in the development of safer and more effective alternatives,” said Mike McDermott, Lowe’s chief customer officer. Several people who died were even wearing masks and respirators which failed to prevent their deaths. Methylene chloride has been linked to nearly 60 deaths following use of paint strippers containing it over the past several years.
Fighting for a Sustainable Water Plan in ConnecticutīIG VICTORY: Lowe’s to End Sale of Toxic Paint Strippersįollowing months of campaigning by Clean Water Action and allies at the Mind the Store Campaign, Lowe’s Home Improvement committed to end the sale of toxic paint stripping products globally by the end of 2018! This is great news and an important step as proposed rules to regulate the toxic chemicals in the paint stripping products - methylene chloride and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) - have languished at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Welcome Marisol, Vick, Laura, and Blake.