The industry is divided, with the main association bitterly opposed to what the authorities are doing.
The Danish Dry Cleaning Association has hired a lawyer to fight the authorities' decision to impose a background limit of 0.002mg/m3 to perc in properties adjoining drycleaner shops. Association director Niels Ole Mikkelsen calls the limit "crazy" and impossible to meet.
But Texpert, a group of drycleaners that broke away from the association last year, holds a pragmatic view. Flemming Gordon Olsen of Sober Rens, the man behind the formation of Texpert, told LCN that because of the tougher requirements, the group made an approach in February to both the parliamentary environmental committee and the Environment Minister Svend Auken. "It ended up with them sort of slackening off their requirements," he said.
The new limits have been put on hold and the previous limit of 0.3mg/m3 will apply during the review period. In a parliamentary answer to the concerns raised by Texpert, Environment Minister Svend Auken said very high concentrations of tetrachlorethylene had been found in some apartments neighbouring drycleaners.
Auken said the ministry's medical adviser suggested such a situation arose when the ground had been polluted by drycleaners. Since 1995, substances evaporating from the ground have been restricted, by way of cleanup, to 0.002mg/m3.
"This limit is regarded as the average concentration, the exposure to which over a lifetime theoretically would lead to an extra case of cancer among 1m people," he said.
While the project examining values is underway, any drycleaner found to have concentrations above 0.3mg/m3 will be required to reduce this level within days rather than weeks to be allowed to continue operations.
Gordon Olsen told LCN he believes the authorities want to force perc out as a drycleaning solvent. "When you are a drycleaner, you don't understand these things. When you're confronted by people who have a better understanding, then we accept what they tell us." He is replacing his perc machine with a hydrocarbon one, adding he did not want to be the source of damaging public health.
