Taken to the cleaners

Paul Clinton

If a regional air-quality board’s ban of a widely used dry

cleaning chemical stands, Sam Chirco is out of business.

Chirco, who has handled harbor-area residents’ laundry for more

than 30 years, said he would close Harbour Cleaners instead of

spending at least $50,000 to replace his equipment.

“This is the end of it for me,” Chirco said. “I’m not going to

fight it. I’m not going to go through this.”

Chirco and many other Southern California cleaners bit their lips

on Dec. 6 when the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s

board enacted the nation’s first ban on perchloroethylene, or “perc”

for short.

No dry cleaning machines that use the chemical will be permitted

in Orange County beyond 2020. More than 2,000 cleaners in four

Southland counties are affected by the ruling.

For Chirco and other cleaners, perc is the lifeblood of their

business. It’s a high-powered solvent that removes heavy soil and

stains from clothing. When the chemical zaps a stain, however, a puff

of pollution is released.

The chemical is a carcinogen and should be eliminated, said Norma

Glover, a South Coast Air Quality Management board member and former

Newport Beach councilwoman.

“We believe, based on the science, that it is harmful,” Glover

said. “Do you want a cleaner environment? If you do, you make the

hard choices.”

The board also set aside $2 million to help cleaners pay for new

equipment.

While environmentalists have pushed for the ban, Chirco and other

cleaners say claims of the chemical’s hazards are overblown.

Air-quality officials required cleaners to modernize their

equipment a decade ago. Before that,, Chirco used between 50 and 100

gallons of the chemical per month. Nowadays, he uses less than 100

gallons per year.

Chirco owns one perc machine.

Without perc, Chirco said the time it takes to clean garments,

especially silk and other delicate fabrics, will quadruple.

“Labor is your biggest expense [in dry cleaning],” Chirco said.

“That’s going to get turned over to the customer.”

Al & J’s Cleaners in Costa Mesa has already decided to raise

prices. In January, the price of cleaning a garment will go from

$1.75 to $2, owner Joanne Rivera said.

Instead of revamping his entire operation, Chirco is opting for an

early retirement.

To buy a new environmentally friendly machine would cost $50,000,

Chirco said. That would essentially wipe out his modest profit

margin, which is less than 10% of his gross sales.

“This used to be a good business,” Chirco said. “It isn’t

profitable anymore.”