Sherwin-Williams pledges to ditch toxin

CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams announced last week that it will phase out the use of paint stripper ingredient methylene chloride this year. The decision comes after pressure from environmental advocates, and follows on a similar announcement by Lowe’s Cos. Last year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a ban on paint removers made with methylene chloride, which is linked to lung and liver cancer, and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). Sherwin-Williams confirmed it does not use NMP, which can lead to miscarriages and stillbirths, in its products.