Paint-stripping chemicals are to blame for at least 13 bathtub-refinishing deaths in the U.S. since 2000, according to Michigan State University researchers.
Refinishing a bathtub may make it shine but the chemicals to do it are dangerous. Photo: zaskem (Flickr)
Methylene chloride is a colorless, toxic chemical used to degrease and strip the paint off of surfaces. Michigan State University’s Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, which studies work-related deaths, linked the chemical to deaths in people refinishing bathrooms after finding three such cases in Michigan in the past decade.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report this week on the investigation.
Already a known hazard for furniture strippers, the chemical’s danger to bathroom refinishers was not known. Since methylene chloride is heavier than air, it lingers long after application. Also, bathrooms are usually smaller and not as well ventilated as other rooms.
The chemical depresses the nervous system and causes people to pass out and die.
Workers either need a well ventilated space or need to use protection, like a respirator, said Kenneth Rosenman, chief of Michigan State University’s Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in the College of Human Medicine.
“In a small bathroom, it is unlikely these products can be used safely,” Rosenman said in a prepared statement.
Of the 13 chemical-induced bathroom refinishing deaths, eight were from Great Lakes states.
Researchers said 13 deaths is an underestimate, as it doesn’t include self-employed workers or regular people who may have died from the chemicals. Also, additional deaths among bathroom refinishers might have been ascribed to other complications like heart disease.
In addition to the federal report, researchers notified bathroom refinishers in Michigan and manufacturers of the product. An effort to reach the general public is in the works.