Some LI dry cleaners opt for 'green' methods

Immersing stained clothes in tetrachloroethylene, or perc, isn't the only route dry cleaners can take. Some carefully launder garments in water or use petroleum-based compounds to dry-clean. Others opt for so-called "green" solvents such as liquid silicone or liquid carbon dioxide.

"The solvents are a medium that the clothes go in, just like water in a washer," said Thomas Davis, co-founder of Greensleeves, a dry-cleaning chain based in Glen Cove that uses a liquid silicone solvent called GreenEarth.

Most alternative methods either cost more than perc or take longer to get clothes clean. And they may not be any more environmentally friendly.

Today's hydrocarbon solvents are essentially less-flammable versions of petroleum products used in the past, such as benzene. "They do not present the same exact problems as perc, but they are volatile organic compounds and they contribute to smog," said Patti Wood of Grassroots Environmental Education.

Woods says carbon dioxide systems are the most sustainable way to go, because the CO2 gets reused and no fluids are discharged to air or water.

But Davis said he chose liquid silicone because CO2 doesn't get clothes as clean unless other chemical solvents are added to help lift off stains.

One of a broad class of compounds known as siloxanes, liquid silicone is not regulated by the federal government - something proponents say reflects its safety. Still, the EPA has selected siloxanes as one of the chemicals that it plans to evaluate to determine whether it poses risks to the public.

At Harbor French Cleaners in Baldwin Harbor, owner Larry Bleck still uses perc. But he's experimenting with a gadget that uses microwaves to break down the chemical-tainted wastewater into carbon dioxide and water. The device, designed by a Long Beach engineering firm in conjunction with companies in Wyoming and California, is still being tested. It has not yet been approved for use by state environmental officials.