In 2018, we won a wave of commitments from eleven of North America’s largest retailers to ban the sale of paint strippers containing the toxic chemicals methylene chloride and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). To see how these retailer policy commitments have been implemented, campaign staff, partner organizations and volunteers are visiting stores across the country to see whether retailers are following through to “mind the store.”

We have spent the past few days with three courageous moms, who have taken the unimaginable grief of losing their sons and turned it into tenacious advocacy. They’re working to get the deadly chemical their sons were all exposed to off store shelves and out of workplaces.

Representative Pallone and Representative Lowey stand up for victims of deadly paint strippers.

The case for Lowe’s and other retailers to stop selling dangerous paint strippers has never been stronger.

Today a group of leading public health organizations, including the Learning Disabilities Association of America and Autism Society, publicly called on Lowe’s to protect kids from toxic paint strippers.

Methylene chloride has killed more than 50 people across the country but so far E.P.A. and home improvement retailers have failed to act.

This week the news broke that EPA had moved rules to ban certain uses of three dangerous chemicals from the “pending” column into the “long-term action” column in its regulatory agenda.

Almost a year ago, using its authority under the newly reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EPA proposed banning certain uses of three solvent chemicals—methylene chloride (MC or DCM) and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) for paint and coating removal and trichloroethylene (TCE) for spot removal in dry cleaning and industrial vapor degreasing. Nearly a year later, the agency still hasn’t finalized these protections.

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 other stores and buy paint strippers containing dangerous chemicals.