Trichloroethylene (TCE)

Trichloroethylene was synthesized in 1864 and found its industrial purpose as a metal degreaser — its remarkable ability to dissolve cutting oils and grease made it the standard solvent for cleaning metal parts in aircraft factories, machine shops, and military installations throughout the 20th century [1]. The contamination story was written in countless communities: TCE was poured down drains, dumped in pits, and buried in barrels across tens of thousands of military bases and industrial facilities between the 1940s and 1980s. Its persistence and mobility in groundwater made it an almost perfect contaminant — it sinks through soil to reach aquifers, forming dense non-aqueous phase liquid plumes that persist for decades [2]. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina is the most publicized case: from 1953 to 1987, Marines and their families drank water contaminated with TCE, PCE, vinyl chloride, and benzene at levels far above safety limits — leading to a devastating cluster of cancers and illnesses across the veteran community [3]. An estimated 10 million Americans live within a mile of a TCE-contaminated Superfund site.

Contaminated drinking water is the primary exposure route for communities near industrial sites, military bases, and dry cleaners [1]. TCE is highly volatile — it evaporates from soil and groundwater and seeps through concrete foundations and cracks into basements and living spaces as a vapor, a process called vapor intrusion. This is how a TCE plume in soil hundreds of feet away can contaminate indoor air in your home with concentrations above health guidelines [2]. Dry cleaning, though it primarily uses PCE, sometimes uses TCE. Consumer products including some paint strippers and adhesives historically contained TCE, and while reformulated products have reduced this, some legacy products remain. Occupational exposures occur in aerospace, electronics, metal fabrication, and automotive manufacturing [3].

TCE is classified as a known human carcinogen by the EPA [1]. The strongest cancer evidence is for kidney cancer — large occupational cohort studies show consistent elevated risks. TCE is also associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, liver cancer, and cervical cancer. But the story extends beyond cancer: epidemiological and animal evidence now links TCE exposure to Parkinson's disease, with TCE inhibiting a mitochondrial enzyme called complex I in the same pathway implicated in Parkinson's pathology [2]. Congenital heart defects in children born to mothers exposed during pregnancy are documented at Camp Lejeune and in occupational studies. TCE is metabolized to trichloroacetic acid and other reactive intermediates that damage kidney tubule cells and generate oxidative stress throughout the body [3].

Veterans and family members who lived at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987, as well as residents of communities near former dry cleaners, aerospace facilities, and electronics manufacturers, face the highest drinking-water exposures [1]. Vapor intrusion is now recognized as a significant exposure pathway for anyone living above or near a TCE groundwater plume — even if their water supply is municipal and treated. Workers in metal degreasing, aircraft maintenance, and electronics manufacturing who handled TCE without adequate controls face elevated cancer and neurological risk [2]. Women who were pregnant and exposed to TCE face elevated risk of cardiac birth defects in their children. People who spent time in basements of homes built over TCE-contaminated soil face inhalation exposure [3].

Check EPA's Superfund Site database and your state's environmental agency records for TCE contamination in your area [1]. If you live near a confirmed TCE plume, contact your state environmental agency about vapor intrusion testing for your home — this is often done at no cost in impacted areas. Increase basement ventilation and seal cracks in foundations if vapor intrusion is a concern [2]. Install a certified carbon adsorption filter on well water if your well is in a TCE-impacted area. Use activated carbon water filters certified for volatile organics removal; reverse osmosis also removes TCE. For VA and Camp Lejeune veterans: the PACT Act (2022) expands eligibility for VA healthcare and disability compensation for many TCE-linked conditions — register with the VA if you were stationed there [3].