Home Depot is the latest big retailer to announce it will drop products containing methylene chloride, a chemical that has been blamed for dozens of accidental deaths.

By the end of 2018, Home Depot said it will no longer sell products containing the chemical, which is found in carpet, paint, insulation, flooring, and cleaning products.

The company’s announcement this week came after Sherwin-Williams tweeted last week that it would stop selling paint strippers that contain the chemical, and Lowe’s in May became the first major retailer to announce it was phasing out products that contain methylene chloride.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, methylene chloride exposure can be “extremely hazardous” because the chemical’s vapors can reduce oxygen and reach toxic levels quickly in small, poorly ventilated spaces. A 2012 report from the CDC found 13 deaths from 2000 to 2011 were caused by methylene chloride stripping agents.

Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition that aims to protect people from toxic chemicals, pins the death toll from acute exposure to methylene chloride at 64 people since 1980.

The Obama administration moved to ban the use of the chemicals in paint strippers, but the Environmental Protection Agency has not yet moved ahead with that ban. The EPA said in May that it would work on finalizing the rules for use of methylene chloride.

Lowe’s, Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams have all made voluntary moves to remove it from their inventories, following intense pressure from health and environmental advocates.



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“The Home Depot’s action is the latest nail in the coffin for methylene chloride and NMP paint strippers,” said Mike Schade, a campaign director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, in a news release. “The time for hazardous paint strippers is over, and we urge the remaining retailers stocking these products to put their customers first and remove them from store shelves swiftly. Walmart, Menards, and Ace Hardware should phase out the sale of all paint strippers containing methylene chloride and NMP by the end of 2018.”

N-Methylpyrrolidone, also known as NMP or 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, is a solvent used in a range of products, including paint strippers. It has been linked to miscarriages and birth defects. Home Depot and Lowe’s have said they will also drop products containing NMP. Sherwin-Williams says it does not have products with NMP. The EPA has not indicated recently whether it plans to ban or limit that chemical.

The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, which represents the makers of various solvents, has spoken out against calls to remove methylene chloride from paint strippers. In a statement earlier this month, the alliance said paint strippers containing the chemical are “the best products for efficient and effective paint removal,” when used as directed and that methylene chloride-based paint strippers were developed “in response to the fire and explosion risks posed by alternatives.” However, the alliance supports a ban on using methylene chloride-based paint strippers in bathtub refinishing since bathrooms do not provide enough space for adequate ventilation.