Other Toxic Substances - TCE: Common chemicals linked to increased risk for Parkinson's

Goldman along with his colleagues identified six specific solvents previously suspected to be related to the development of Parkinson's, two of which were TCE and PERC.

Researchers then reached out to 99 all-male pairs of twins, each composed of one twin with Parkinson's and one without. The test subjects were all male as they were part of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council World War II Veteran Twins Registry that was founded in the 1960s using military records.

The medical team then interviewed the twins using detailed job-specific questionnaires to gauge the likelihood of each person being exposed to the predetermined solvents.

"We designed these extremely detailed interviews so that we didn't have to rely on the memory or the knowledge of the respondent," Goldman explains.

read more

Other Toxic Substances - TCE: Despite Delays and Threats, EPA Finally Classifies TCE as a Cancer-Causing Chemical

The EPA’s long-anticipated assessment, released on Sept. 28, formally classified TCE as a known human carcinogen. Specifically, the report found that exposure to TCE can lead to kidney and liver cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; to a lesser extent, it may also be linked to bladder, esophageal, prostate, cervical, and breast cancers, as well as leukemia. TCE easily evaporates from water into the air and contaminates groundwater and land. According to the agency’s findings, any route of exposure can be carcinogenic to humans.

The greatest use of TCE has been as a degreaser for metal parts, including aircraft. The chemical is also found in household products, such as paint removers, glues, correction fluid, electronic equipment cleaners, rust removers, adhesives, and gun-cleaning fluids. Until 1977, TCE was even used as a general anesthetic, and until the 1980s, it was used in pharmaceuticals and food. Given the widespread usage, it is not surprising that TCE is one of the most common man-made chemicals found in the environment and is often found among the pollutants at Superfund sites, military bases, and industrial sites across the country.

CAMP LEJEUNE VICTIMS
The victims from Camp Lejeune have created a website called The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten to inform everyone about the betrayal of trust that occurred at the base.

BEAVERTON, OREGON VICTIMS

TCE exposure victims from Beaverton, OR, established a nonprofit organization called Victims of TCE Exposure. A Lasting Legacy to assist other victims and fight the TCE contamination from a View-Master plant.

THE BRONX NEW SCHOOL VICTIMS BRONX, NEW YORK CITY
For parents of elementary school children in the North Bronx, New York City, the assessment is bone-chilling. The Bronx New School was closed in August after tests showed that the building was contaminated at levels far in excess of TCE limits, determined by state health department standards. The industrial plant that previously occupied the school building used TCE.

read more

Other Toxic Substances - TCE: EPA adds TCE final assessment to IRIS program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released the final health assessment for trichloroethylene (TCE) to the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database.

IRIS is a human health assessment program that evaluates the latest science on chemicals in our environment. The final assessment characterizes the chemical as carcinogenic to humans and as a human noncancer health hazard.

The Source

Other Toxic Substances - TCE: EPA finalizes long-delayed TCE assessment - big step to protecting public health

Larger Image click here (scroll half way down page)

Today EPA took an important step towards protecting the public and wildlife from trichloroethylene (TCE), a very hazardous mutagenic cancer-causing chemical that pollutes the nation’s water and air.

This much-delayed action is a triumph of science over special interest politics.

TCE is a chlorinated solvent used primarily for metal degreasing—most notably for jet parts—and is a widespread drinking water contaminant that is leaching from military bases and industrial sites throughout the country. In addition to cancer, TCE causes harmful effects to the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system, male reproductive system, and the developing fetus.

The 2001 EPA draft for TCE calculated that the chemical was 5 to 65 times more toxic than previously estimated, and classified it as "highly likely" to cause human cancer. It identified children as a susceptible population, and noted that co-exposure to some other chemicals may augment the toxicity of TCE.

The 2001 draft also triggered a decade-long firestorm of criticism from the chemical industry, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE), which together are responsible for about 750 TCE-contaminated dump sites in the nation.

In the spring of 2007 the Bush Administration side-stepped the science by issuing a rule exempting the military and certain industries from laws that would put a limit on air emissions of TCE and other halogenated solvents. The exemption was challenged in court by NRDC and other environmental groups. The outcome of that process is still pending.

In 2009, the EPA staff again updated its still-draft TCE assessment, classifying TCE as carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure, based mainly on its high risk of causing kidney cancers, but also on Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and liver cancer.

It is the 2009 draft with minor changes that was finalized today and issued to the public as the new 2011 health assessment, to be used to set more protective clean-up standards and exposure limits across the country.

EPA (IRIS) - Trichloroethylene (CASRN 79-01-6)

ASTDR - Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry
Toxic Substances Portal Trichloroethylene (TCE)

The Source