Industrial Chemical’s Risks to Workers Justify Rule, EPA Says

An industrial compound used to make other chemicals, 1,1-dichloroethane, has so much potential to harm workers it must be regulated, the EPA said Friday.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s final risk evaluation of 1,1-dichloroethane concludes that some type of rule restricting how it’s made or used is needed, and the agency didn’t find the chemical posed an unreasonable risk of injury to the general public or the environment.

Only two companies, Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Westlake Chemical Corp., reported making 1,1-dichloroethane in recent years, but many other companies transform the chemical into compounds used to make certain plastics, coatings, and ...