Dry cleaning workers absorb perc at 59 ppm average despite 25 ppm exposure limits

A systematic review of 109 occupational studies found that dry cleaning workers are exposed to a mean of 59 parts per million of perchloroethylene -- more than double OSHA's recommended 25 ppm limit and approaching OSHA's outdated permissible exposure limit of 100 ppm (set in the 1970s and never updated). Machine operators face the worst exposure at over 100 ppm. At these levels, workers show measurable DNA damage and increased micronuclei frequency even below official exposure limits, along with a three-fold increase in odds of significant liver fibrosis. This matters because the workforce is disproportionately composed of immigrants and ethnic minorities who are less likely to file OSHA complaints or have access to occupational health monitoring. The structural root cause is that OSHA's permissible exposure limit for perc has not been updated since it was first set, and the agency lacks the resources to conduct routine inspections of the thousands of small dry cleaning establishments where violations are most common.