1 / 14

Trichloroethylene (TCE)

Trichloroethylene (TCE). What Is It? How Does It Work? Why Is It Dangerous? How Should We Deal With It ? Presented By Bruce-Sean Reshen The MGP Group August 3, 2005. What Is Trichloroethylene?. A non-flammable, colorless liquid with a mildly sweet odor & a sweet, burning taste

race
Download Presentation

Trichloroethylene (TCE)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Trichloroethylene (TCE) What Is It? How Does It Work? Why Is It Dangerous? How Should We Deal With It? Presented By Bruce-Sean Reshen The MGP Group August 3, 2005

  2. What Is Trichloroethylene? • A non-flammable, colorless liquid with a mildly sweet odor & a sweet, burning taste • It is used mainly as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts • Also an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids and spot removers • Not naturally occurring, but found in both surface & ground water as a result of its manufacture, use and disposal

  3. Industrial History of TCE • TCE is a good solvent for organic materials • First widely produced in the 1920s; major use was to extract vegetable oils from plants such as soy, coconut and palm • Other food related uses: coffee decaffeination, preparation of flavoring extracts from Spices • Due to concerns about its toxicity, use of TCE banned in the food and pharmaceutical industries since 1970 • Still being used as a solvent in parts of the world

  4. TCE and the Environment • TCE dissolves a only a little in water, but can remain in ground water for a long time • TCE quickly evaporates from surface water, so it is commonly found as a vapor in the air • TCE evaporates less easily from soil than surface water; It sticks to particles and remains a long time • TCE may stick to particles in water and settle in bottom sediments • TCE does not build up significantly in plants & animals

  5. How are People Exposed to TCE? • Breathing air in the home which has been contaminated with TCE vapors from shower water or household products • Drinking, swimming or showering in water which has been contaminated with TCE • Contact with soil contaminated with TCE • Contact with the skin and/or breathing in vapors while using TCE in home or work

  6. The MGP Group • Mission: To develop programs supporting brownfields redevelopment • The Guardian Trust™ program for long term stewardship of LUCs and ECs • State sponsored insurance programs • Secondary loan markets for brownfields • State registry database programs

  7. TCE and Human Health • Breathing small amounts of TCE may cause headaches, lung irritation, dizziness, poor coordination and difficulty concentrating • Breathing large amounts of TCE may cause impaired heart function, unconsciousness and death • Breathing large amounts of TCE for long periods may cause nerve, kidney and liver damage

  8. TCE and Human Health • Drinking large amounts of TCE may cause nausea, liver damage, unconsciousness, impaired heart function and death • Drinking large amounts of TCE for long periods of time may cause kidney and liver damage, impaired immune system function and impaired fetal development (though the extent is not yet clear) • Skin contact with TCE for short periods of time may cause skin rashes

  9. Does TCE Cause Cancer? • Some studies in mice and rats have suggested that high levels of TCE may cause kidney, liver or lung cancer • Some studies of people exposed over long periods to high levels of TCE in drinking water or in workplace air have found evidence of increased cancer rates

  10. Does TCE Cause Cancer? • The National Toxicology Program determined that TCE is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” • The International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that TCE is “probably carcinogenic to humans”

  11. Is There a Test to Determine Exposure to TCE? • Recent exposure to TCE can be detected in the breath, blood and urine. • Exposure to large amounts of TCE can be assessed by blood and urine tests which can detect TCE and its breakdown products for up to a week after exposure • Proof not absolute since similar chemicals can produce the same breakdown products

  12. Government Recommendations to Protect Human Health • The EPA has set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TCE in drinking water at 0.005 milligrams per liter or 5 parts per billion parts water • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set an exposure limit of 100 parts of TCE per million parts of air for an 8-hour workday, 40 hour workweek

  13. References • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 2003, Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents, Volume III- Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures: TCE, Atlanta, GA, US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, and • ATSDR, 1997, Toxicology Profile for TCE, Atlanta, GA, USDHHS, PHS

  14. Dealing With The Impact of TCE • Education in the care and safety of using solvent products • Screening in both homes and the workplace for high levels of TCE • Medical toxicology screening (especially children) for at risk individuals • Developing ongoing programs of inspection, monitoring & reporting where there is evidence of TCE use

More Related