STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits certain uses of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the use of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number" or "CASRN" means a numeric identifier assigned to a chemical by the Chemical Abstracts Service, a division of the American Chemical Society.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"PCE" means the solvent perchloroethylene (CASRN 127-18-4).
"TCE" means the volatile organic compound trichloroethylene (CASRN 79-01-6).
b. No later than two years after the effective date of this section, the department shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) adopt rules and regulations to:
(1) prohibit all uses in commerce of TCE;
(2) prohibit all consumer and commercial uses of PCE, and require an owner or operator of a facility that utilizes PCE to take appropriate measures to protect the facility's worker from exposure to PCE.
c. The rules and regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this section shall be substantively identical to the applicable rules and regulations published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register on December 17th and 18th, 2024, including any delayed effective dates and exemptions.
d. Any uses of PCE or TCE that are preempted under the federal "Toxic Substances Control Act," 15 U.S.C. s.2601 et seq., shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit certain uses of the chemicals perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE).
Specifically, the bill would (1) prohibit all uses in commerce of TCE and (2) prohibit all consumer and commercial uses of PCE, and require an owner or operator of a facility that utilizes PCE to take appropriate measures to protect the facility's worker from exposure to PCE. The bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt rules and regulations to implement these requirements. The bill would additionally specify that the DEP codify, on the state level, the rules and regulations that were adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December, 2024 concerning the use of PCE and TCE.
PCE is a solvent that is used in brake cleaners and adhesives, in dry cleaning, and in many industrial applications. The EPA has found that PCE is associated with health risks such as damage to the kidney, liver, and immune system, neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity, and cancer from inhalation or skin exposure. TCE is a volatile organic compound that is used in industrial cleaning and degreasing applications, lubricants, adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, automotive care products, cleaning products, and furniture care products. The EPA has found that TCE is associated with health risks including liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.