Amazon has announced a new policy prohibiting the sale of paint stripping products that contain toxic chemicals methylene chloride and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). 11 other companies including Lowe's, Walmart, and The Home Depot have also banned these chemicals.
The Amazon ban will come into effect March 2019. Methylene chloride and NMP have been linked to several serious health risks including cancer, nervous system harm, and death.
Back in October Amazon launched a new policy on chemicals which restricts over a dozen harmful chemicals in baby, personal care, household cleaning, and beauty products sold on its site.
Since 1980, Methylene chloride and NMP have been linked to over 60 deaths in the U.S. Methylene chloride and NMP are also linked to lung and liver cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Over 60,000 workers and 2 million consumers in the U.S. are exposed to Methylene chloride and NMP every year.