Overview
Dichloromethane is a clear, colourless, volatile liquid with a sweet odour. Other common names for dichloromethane are methylene chloride and DCM.
Dichloromethane is used as an aerosol solvent, in the production of pharmaceuticals, as a paint stripper and as a degreasing agent in electronics and manufacturing industries.
You can read more about the substance information for Dichloromethane at the following link:
How exposure to dichloromethane could affect your health
The presence of Dichloromethane in the environment does not always lead to exposure. In order for it to cause any adverse health effects you must come into contact with it. You may be exposed to Dichloromethane by breathing its vapour, ingestion or by skin contact. Following exposure to any chemical, the adverse health effects you may encounter depend on several factors, including:
- the amount to which you are exposed (dose)
- the way you are exposed
- the duration of exposure
- the form of the chemical
- if you were exposed to any other chemicals
Breathing in Dichloromethane (DCM) vapour can produce narcotic effects. These include drowsiness, headache, giddiness and, at high concentrations, unconsciousness and death. DCM evaporates easily producing high concentrations of vapour, particularly in confined spaces or where ventilation is inadequate.
Ingestion can cause burns to the digestive tract. Skin contact with Dichloromethane can cause a burning sensation, numbness, coldness, pain and burns. Eye contact with Dichloromethane vapour can cause irritation and contact with the liquid may cause burns to the eye.
Dichloromethane can also be absorbed into the body via inhalation, ingestion or skin contact. Symptoms include headache, light-headedness, blurred vision, confusion, agitation and skin rashes. In severe cases kidney damage, fitting, heart problems and coma can occur.
In the UK, DCM is implicated in a number of prosecutions each year, including unfortunately some fatalities. It is therefore paramount that employers adequately control DCM exposures in their workplaces:
Cancer risk
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that there is enough evidence in experimental animals, but not in humans, that dichloromethane can cause cancer. Therefore, they have classified dichloromethane as being suspected of causing cancer in humans:
REACH Annex XVII restriction on Dichloromethane
Since 6 June 2012, the sale, purchase and use of Dichloromethane-based paint strippers for non-industrial purposes has been banned in the UK, as the result of a restriction under the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. A conditional derogation for professional users is available under the restriction:
The restriction details that:
Paint strippers containing dichloromethane in a concentration equal to or greater than 0,1% by weight shall not be:
- placed on the market for the first time for supply to the general public or to professionals* after 6 December 2010
- placed on the market for supply to the general public or to professionals after 6 December 2011
- used by professionals after 6 June 2012
*‘professional’ means any natural or legal person, including workers and self-employed workers undertaking paint stripping in the course of their professional activity outside an industrial installation**
**‘industrial installation’ means a facility used for paint stripping activities
Derogation to the REACH Annex XVII restriction for professional users
The UK, including NI have adopted a derogation to the restriction, it requires that:
Before purchasing and/or using a DCM-based paint stripper, professionals must attend a mandatory training course. To be considered suitable, the training course must conform with the requirements in the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 as amended by the REACH Enforcement (Amendment) Regulations 2014 covering as a minimum:
- awareness, evaluation and management of risks to health, including information on existing substitutes or processes, which under their conditions of use are less hazardous to the health and safety of workers
- the use of adequate ventilation
- the use of appropriate personal protective equipment that complies with the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002 in the UK
Training providers
To become a training company/provider/organisation, you must register on the DCM website (link below) as a training organisation/provider/company and agree to the terms set out in the training company agreement on the DCM website that:
- the persons who undertake the training of professionals in the safe use of DCM paint strippers for the purposes of complying with the amendment to REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 are competent to carry such training and will ensure this training meets the requirements set out in the REACH Enforcement (Amendment) Regulations 2014
- access to the online HSE competence Test is only provided to trainees who have undertaken training to the standard set out in by REACH Enforcement (Amendment) Regulations 2014
- all trainees accessing the online competence test must do so under examination conditions and the training organisation/provider/company will invigilate in order to prevent malpractice
Anyone can register on the HSE(GB) DCM website as a training organisation/provider/company if they agree to the terms and are able to meet the requirements.
For more information please see the following link:
Professional users
Before purchasing and/or using a DCM-based paint stripper, professionals must attend a mandatory training course.
Training
Training is carried out by a training company/provider/organisation that offers training courses on the safe use of DCM-based paint stripper. These can be found via trade press, other publications or an internet search. Training organisations that would normally be used for similar training may also be registered as an authorised HSE DCM training provider.
Competence
After relevant training, a professional user must demonstrate a competent understanding of the material covered in the training course. In order to confirm this, the HSE has developed an online multiple-choice competence assessment available via the HSE DCM website.
The multiple-choice assessment consists of 12 questions, with four questions selected at random. A participant must score above 80% to pass (i.e. answer at least 10 questions correctly). Participants will have three attempts to pass. If after three attempts, the participant has failed he/she must re-do the training course before re-taking the assessment.
Once a user has passed the competence assessment, he/she will be provided with a HSE-issued certificate.
Professionals should not be able to access the competence assessment before undertaking the required training. The assessment should only be accessed through training providers who register with the HSE. Training providers must then invigilate trainees to ensure examination conditions are adhered to during the assessment.
Only those professionals who are in possession of this certificate can legally purchase and use DCM-based paint strippers. No alternative evidence of competence and/or training will suffice.
This restriction and derogation apply across the UK including Northern Ireland (NI) and professional users in NI must complete the training and competency assessment as detailed above.
Suppliers of DCM-based paint strippers
Before supplying DCM-based paint strippers to professionals, suppliers must confirm the professionals have completed the mandatory training.
Confirmation of training completion
Professional users must provide a supplier with a HSE issued certificate of competence before a purchase of DCM-based paint strippers.
Only those professionals who are in possession of this certificate can legally purchase and use DCM-based paint strippers. No alternative evidence of competence and / or training will suffice.
Proof of identification should also be confirmed.
Suppliers can verify the certificate provided to them by a professional user on the HSE certified users webpage:
Suppliers should retain records of supply, including the name of the professional user and the certificate identity number, should it be requested by the appropriate authorities.
The restriction of DCM-based paint strippers and the derogation for professional users applies across the UK including NI. Therefore, NI based suppliers are required to verify competence as detailed above before supplying DCM-based paint stripper.