This week a reader in New York City writes:

OK so we just moved into this apartment and there is a dry cleaner on the ground floor. The vents for the dry cleaners are right on the part of the sidewalk that we have to walk past to get to our entrance. So it’s like being showered in dry cleaning chemical nastiness every time we walk by. The vents are about 6 feet off the ground so it’s high for a stroller, but pregnant moms will have to soak it right in. My questions are: is this legal? (I called 311 and they are sending someone out to inspect it) and the other question is: how toxic is this to walk past at least twice a day? It can’t be good.

I know how hard it is to find an apartment in New York City, but this doesn’t sound like a great situation. The “chemical nastiness” you’re inhaling is Tetrachloroethene (it also goes by tetrachloroethylene, perchloroethylene, PCE or, most commonly, PERC), and it’s used to dry-clean clothes (as well as degrease metal parts). It’s considered a probable carcinogen by …

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