Target: Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President The Home Depot
Goal: Remove toxic chemicals in paint strippers from Home Depot shelves.
A weekend home improvement project shouldn’t expose you or your family to dangerous chemicals. But right now you can walk into The Home Depot and buy paint strippers containing dangerous chemicals.
Paint strippers containing the chemical methylene chloride have been linked to more than 50 deaths nationwide since the 1980’s. Long-term exposure has been linked to liver and lung cancer. Another chemical used in paint strippers, NMP, poses risks to pregnant women.
Recently the EPA proposed major restrictions on these chemicals in paint strippers under the new chemical safety law. But that process could take years and there’s no reason for The Home Depot to keep selling products containing these chemicals in the meantime, especially when safer alternatives are readily available.
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families sent a letter to The Home Depot executives urging them to stop selling products containing these chemicals, but they have yet to respond, so we need your help! Send a message to the CEO of The Home Depot now!
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Menear,
When I go shopping at The Home Depot, I expect products on store shelves are safe. I’m concerned that The Home Depot sells paint strippers containing chemicals the EPA recently said pose an “unreasonable risk” to human health.
These chemicals, methylene chloride (also known as DCM) and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), pose “risks of concern” to the health of consumers and workers. Workers have even died on the job using paint strippers with DCM.
The EPA has proposed to restrict these chemicals, but that could take years, and there’s no reason why The Home Depot should still sell products containing these chemicals in the meantime.
The Home Depot has shown proactive leadership in restricting other toxic chemicals, as you did with phthalates in flooring. Your company should build on those actions by also phasing out and eliminating paint strippers containing DCM and NMP.
I hope you’ll do the right thing to protect me and my family from these chemicals.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Mike Mozart
no more toxic chemicals! just eco friendly stuff!