As with many chemicals, the environment may be affected by excessive release of chlorinated solvents into the air, water or soil. Prior to the use of these products for a particular application they should be reviewed for their potential effects on the environment. Engineering controls and management practices should be employed to ensure that the product is utilized in the most environmentally responsible manner possible.

The chlorinated solvents offered by The Dow Chemical Company, including methylene chloride, perchloroethylene and trichlorethylene, do not deplete stratospheric ozone and are not affected by the Montreal Protocol.

Chlorinated solvents are not greenhouse gases and do not contribute to global warming.

Chlorinated solvents have a relatively short half-life in the atmosphere. Their half-lives vary from a few days to a few months. Methylene chloride and perchloroethylene have negligible photochemical reactivity and do not create tropospheric (ground level) ozone, commonly referred to as smog. Trichloroethylene has low photochemical reactivity, and therefore low potential to create tropospheric ozone.

As defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), these chlorinated solvents are "not readily biodegradable." In order to avoid potential soil and groundwater contamination, these materials should never be poured or allowed to drain off into sewers, any body of water, or onto the ground.