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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=department1><font size=1 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:9.0pt'>the green lantern</span></font></span> <o:p></o:p></p>
<h1><b><font size=5 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:16.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dirty Laundry<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<h2><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Should I give up dry cleaning?<o:p></o:p></span></font></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=author1><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>By Nina Shen Rastogi</span></font></span><font size=2
color="#cc0000"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#CC0000'><br>
<span class=dateline1><font color="#cc0000">Posted Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at
7:23 AM ET </font></span></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I
live around the corner from a dry cleaner, but there's also a "green"
dry cleaner on the other side of town. Am I total jerk if I keep going to my
regular spot?</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
problem with traditional dry cleaning is a liquid solvent called
"perc," short for perchloroethylene. (Despite the moniker, dry
cleaning isn't really dry; it just doesn't involve water.) Perc is what
dissolves the gunk off of your clothes. It's highly effective without being
labor-intensive and—unlike the cleaning chemicals of old—it's not
likely to burst into flames. That's why cleaners have been using it for the
past 50 years. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>People
have been concerned about the chemical's health risks since the 1970s.
Perchloroethylene (also known as tetrachloroethylene) is considered <a
href="http://www.epa.gov/oar/toxicair/newtoxics.html" target="_blank">a toxic
air pollutant</a> by the EPA, meaning that it's "known or suspected to
cause cancer or other serious health effects." Short, intense blasts of
perc can cause <a href="http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs18.html"
target="_blank">dizziness, headaches, or loss of consciousness</a>. But how
dangerous is long-term exposure? Indoor and outdoor air usually contains a few
micrograms of perc per cubic meter. At those background levels, the New York
State Department of Health estimates that there's a theoretical risk of up to
five additional people in 1 million developing cancer after a lifetime of
exposure. (Some agencies have calculated slightly higher risks; California's
Air Resources Board, for example, estimates an additional six to 30 cases of
cancer at those background levels.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 color="#0f243e" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#0F243E'>Article continues at URL</span></font>: <a
href="http://www.slate.com/id/2245832/" target="_blank">http://www.slate.com/id/2245832/</a></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoFooter><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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