Dry cleaners, as we now know them, may likely go the way of dinosaurs, non-cable television and white-out (remember white-out?). The way dry cleaners clean without using soap and water is by using a chemical compound called perchloroetylene, or "perc" for short. Perc is now on a growing number of legislative hot lists for extinction consideration.

There are apparently several problems with perc. First, perc is believed to cause cancer. People who work around it might be at increased risk. Recently, some health officials even suggested that all dry cleaning goods be aired outdoors before being taken into the house and stored inside.

Another problem is that older cleaner operations tend to lose a lot of perc in the process. This in turn has historically ended up in the ground and ultimately in drinking water. It can cost millions of dollars to remove this kind of substance from drinking water.

Some states have started to take action. The difficultly is in separating the rumors from the facts. Of course, industry lobbyists aren't exactly sitting still either.

In New Jersey, several bills designed to reform the industry were introduced in early 1996. They have all apparently died.

No so in Oregon, where a 1995 law has created an industry subsidized environmental fund to address this problem, limits dry cleaner monetary exposure in the event of a perc release, and outlaws installation of transfer type dry cleaning equipment using perc after 1998.

Other states have also responded: and the list of new states with these laws is sure to grow. For example, since 1993 California has required mandatory training for perc handlers and Kansas adopted the Kansas Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Act to address this issue. Though possibly unconstitutional, don't be surprised if copycat federal legislation is enacted in the near future.

In conclusion, if you need any dry cleaning done -- do it quickly. This is an industry that is now under siege.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.