E whakapau kaha ana a Toxic-Free Future ki te whakatairanga i te whakamahinga o ngā hua, ngā matū me ngā mahi haumaru ake mō tētahi heke mai hauora mā roto i ngā rangahau matatau, te tautoko, te whakarite i te iwi whānui me te whai wāhi mai o ngā kaihoko.
Mai i te tekau tau atu i 1980, kua mate te tini o ngā kaihoko me ngā kaimahi i te pānga o te methylene chloride. Ka taea e te matū e whakamahia ana i roto i ngā whakangawari peita me ētahi atu hua te mate ohorere i te manawa pōuri me te mate manawa, ā, kua honoa hoki ki te mate pukupuku me te ngoikore o te hinengaro.
Nā te pānuitanga a te EPA i te wiki kua taha ake nei kia aukatia te nuinga o ngā whakamahinga o te methylene chloride, ka homai te tumanako ki a tātou kāore he tangata e mate i tēnei matū whakamate.
Mā te ture kua whakaarohia e aukati te whakamahinga katoa o ngā matū e ngā kaihoko, tae atu ki te nuinga o ngā whakamahinga ahumahi me ngā whakamahinga arumoni, tae atu ki ngā tango hinu, ngā tango paru, ngā tango peita, paninga rānei, me te maha atu.
Kei roto hoki i tēnei ture ngā whakawāteatanga whakamahinga nui ā-wā-iti mai i ngā whakaritenga tiaki i te wāhi mahi, me ngā whakawāteatanga nui mai i te Tari Tiaki, te Whakahaere Rererangi ā-Motu, te Tari Haumarutanga Whenua, me te NASA. Hei whakawāteatanga, ka tukuna e te EPA "ngā kaupapa tiaki matū i te wāhi mahi me ngā herenga pānga pakari hei tiaki pai ake i ngā kaimahi." Ina koa, ka ārai tēnei ture i ngā matū tino paitini kia kore e tae ki ngā whata o ngā toa me te nuinga o ngā wāhi mahi.
Ehara i te mea ngāwari te kī kāore rawa he ture e aukati ana i te methylene chloride e whakamanahia i raro i te Ture Whakahaere Matū Paitini (TSCA) o te tau 1976, kua roa nei e kaha ana tā mātou rōpū ki te whakahou.
He puhoi tonu te tere o ngā mahi a te kāwanatanga mō ngā paitini. Kāore i āwhina te tūnga whakahē a te kaiārahi o te EPA i te marama o Hānuere 2017, i te wā tonu i whai mana ai te whakahoutanga a te TSCA. Kua tata ki te whitu tau mai i te hainatanga o ngā ture kua whakahoutia hei ture, ā, koinei anake te mahi tuarua kua whakaarohia e te EPA mō ngā matū "kei te wātea" kei raro i tana mana whakahaere.
He taahiraa nui tēnei ki mua i te tiaki i te hauora o te marea mai i ngā matū paitini. Ko te rārangi wā mahi tae noa ki tēnei wā e whakaatu ana i ngā tau o te mahi nui e hiahiatia ana hei whakatutuki i tēnei whāinga.
Ehara i te mea miharo, kei roto te dichloromethane i te rārangi "tekau matua" a te EPA mō ngā matū hei aromatawai me te whakahaere i raro i te TSCA kua whakahoutia. I te tau 1976, tokotoru ngā tāngata i mate i te pānga kino ki te matū, ā, i puta ai ngā karanga a te Environmental Protection Agency kia aukatia te whakamahinga i roto i ngā tango peita.
I mua i te tau 2016, kua whai taunakitanga nui te EPA mō ngā tūponotanga o tēnei matū—inā hoki, nā ngā taunakitanga o nāianei i akiaki a Gina McCarthy, te kaiwhakahaere o taua wā, ki te whakamahi i ngā mana o te EPA i raro i te TSCA kua whakahoutia hei whakaaro i te aukati i te whakamahinga a te kaihoko me te wāhi mahi. ngā peita kei roto te methylene chloride me ngā tikanga hei tango atu. i te mutunga o te tau 2016.
I harikoa rawa atu ā mātou kaiwhakahau me ngā hoa mahi tahi ki te whakapuaki i te maha o ngā mano tini o ngā kōrero i riro mai i te EPA hei tautoko i te aukati. Kei te harikoa ngā hoa mahi kāwanatanga ki te whakauru mai ki a mātou i roto i tā mātou kaupapa hei whakatenatena i ngā kaihokohoko pēnei i a Lowe's me Home Depot kia mutu te hoko i ēnei hua i mua i te whakamanatanga o te aukati.
Engari, i aukatia e te EPA, i raro i te kaiārahi o Scott Pruitt, ngā ture e rua, ā, i whakaroahia te mahi ki tētahi aromatawai matū whānui.
I te riri nui mō te kore mahi a te EPA, ka haere ngā whānau o ngā taiohi i mate i ēnei hua ki Washington, ka tūtaki ki ngā āpiha o te EPA me ngā mema o te Runanga, ā, ka ako mā te atawhai mō ngā tūponotanga tūturu o te methylene chloride. Kua uru mai ētahi o rātou ki a mātou me ō mātou hoa mahi tahi ki te whakawakia te EPA mō ētahi atu tiakitanga.
I te tau 2019, i te wā i panuitia ai e te Komihana EPA a Andrew Wheeler te aukati i ngā hoko ki ngā kaihoko, i kite mātou ahakoa he pai te mahi, i pā kino tonu ki ngā kaimahi.
Kua uru mai ngā whaea o ngā patunga e rua me ō mātou hoa PIRG i Vermont ki te tuku i tētahi kereme ki te kooti ā-motu e tono ana ki te EPA kia whakaratohia ngā tiakitanga rite tonu ki ngā tiakitanga a ngā kaimahi. (Nā te mea ehara i te mea ko tā mātou kereme anake, i uru atu te kooti ki ngā pitihana mai i te NRDC, te Kaunihera Mahi Whakamua o Amerika Latina, me te Rōpū Kaihanga Whakarewa Halogenated. I tautohetia e te hunga whakamutunga kia kaua te EPA e aukati i te whakamahinga a ngā kaihoko.) Ahakoa e koa ana mātou i te whakakahoretanga a tētahi kaiwhakawā i te tono a tētahi rōpū hokohoko ahumahi ki te whakakore i tētahi ture tiakitanga kaihoko, e tino pouri ana mātou nā te korenga o te kooti i te tau 2021 ki te tono i te EPA kia aukati i te whakamahinga arumoni i pāngia ai ngā kaimahi e tēnei matū kino.
I a te EPA e arotake tonu ana i ngā mōrearea e pā ana ki te methylene chloride, kei te akiaki tonu mātou kia tiakina ngā whakamahinga katoa o tēnei matū. I te wā i tukuna ai e te EPA tana aromatawai mōrearea i te tau 2020, i whakatauhia e rātou ko te 47 o te 53 o ngā whakamahinga he "tino mōrearea rawa atu." He mea whakatenatena ake, kua arotake anō te kāwanatanga hou kāore e tika kia whakaarohia te PPE hei huarahi tiaki i ngā kaimahi, ā, i kitea ko ngā whakamahinga 53 katoa engari kotahi anake he mōrearea rawa atu.
He maha ngā wā i tūtaki ai mātou ki ngā āpiha o te EPA me te Whare White, nā rātou i whakawhanake te aromatawai mōrearea me ngā ture whakamutunga, i tuku arotake ki te Komiti Tohutohu Pūtaiao a te EPA, ā, i kōrero i ngā kōrero a te hunga kāore i tae mai.
Kāore anō kia oti – kia whakaputaina he ture ki te Federal Register, ka 60 ngā rā e pau ana mō te wā tuku kōrero, ā, muri iho ka arotakehia aua kōrero e ngā tari kāwanatanga ā-motu i roto i te raupapa pīpā i mua i te whai mana.
Ka akiaki mātou i te EPA kia tere te whakaputa i tētahi ture pakari hei tiaki i ngā kaimahi katoa, ngā kaihoko, me ngā hapori kia taea ai e rātou te mahi i ā rātou mahi. Kia tino rangona tō reo mā roto i tā mātou petihana ipurangi i te wā tuku kōrero.