This week Cindy and two other moms traveled to Washington, DC on a mission. Like Cindy, Wendy Hartley and Lauren Atkins also recently lost their sons Kevin and Joshua to methylene chloride exposure from paint strippers. Cindy, Wendy, Lauren and other family members traveled to DC to tell their stories and urge our leaders to ban these dangerous products. They met with members of Congress and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, after Pruitt was questioned by Congress just two weeks ago. As you’ll recall, last January the EPA proposed banning paint strippers containing methylene chloride and another toxic chemical called N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) but the proposal was sitting in limbo. Yesterday, two days after EPA Administrator Pruitt met with family members, his agency announced it would move forward and issue a final version of the rule “shortly.” We couldn’t believe it! This is a big deal and is due to the advocacy of these courageous moms. But a number of crucial questions remain. Will the final version of the rule be a true ban on methylene chloride paint strippers as was proposed under the Obama administration or will it be watered down? Will it also include a ban on NMP, which is harmful to developing fetuses? And when exactly is “shortly”? We all know that the devil is in the details. And the longer these products are on store shelves, the more families are likely to lose a loved one. These three young men all lost their lives in the time since the EPA originally proposed banning these dangerous products. Their mothers don’t want anyone else to go through what they’ve been experiencing. Cindy, Wendy, Lauren and their families will keep calling on the EPA to ban methylene chloride and NMP in paint strippers. And let’s not forget retailers should act too. There’s absolutely no reason for Lowe’s to wait for government action. Lowe’s has the power to take these products off its shelves and save lives! --The team at Safer Chemicals Healthy Families