The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week a national ban on trichloroethylene (TCE), a groundwater and soil contaminant confirmed at over 300 sites in Michigan. The move will save Michigan taxpayers millions of dollars in future cleanup costs and protect public health.
“EPA’s action is critical to public health and the environment,” said FLOW executive director Liz Kirkwood. “It shows why America needs protections against environmental hazards through enforceable rules. The incoming Trump Administration should not pursue deregulation that worsens the health of Americans.”
FLOW called for a TCE ban in our 2021 groundwater report. We have been working with state legislators on a bill banning TCE at the state level if EPA did not act.
Commonly used as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts during manufacturing processes or to make additional chemicals, TCE has also been used to extract greases, oils, fats, waxes, and tars by the textile industry; and in consumer products such as adhesives, paint removers, stain removers, lubricants, paints, varnishes, pesticides, and cold metal cleaners. EPA found that alternatives to TCE exist for most of these uses.
TCE is slow to degrade and time-consuming to mitigate when it contaminates soil and groundwater. When spilled on the ground, TCE can travel through soil and water and contaminate drinking water supplies, including public and private wells.
It can also evaporate. TCE vapors can enter buildings through cracks in the foundation, pipes, and sump and drain systems, thus contaminating indoor air. This phenomenon is known as vapor intrusion. At several Michigan locations where housing and office structures were built on contaminated sites, TCE was left in soils rather than being excavated and removed, and has vaporized into these buildings through foundations and basements. In some cases, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has temporarily evacuated occupants of the buildings because of the danger of air inhalation of TCE.
TCE has been characterized as carcinogenic to humans. Exposure to large amounts of the chemical may lead to coma, nerve damage, or death. TCE is known to interfere with early life development and lead to developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, and neurotoxicity. TCE has also been linked to damage to eyesight, hearing, the liver, the kidney, balance, heartbeat, blood, nervous system, and respiratory system.
Exposure to TCE may cause scleroderma, a systemic autoimmune disease. TCE has also been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Dumped in shallow, sandy pits decades ago, TCE has contaminated 13 trillion gallons of groundwater in Mancelona, Michigan, making the Wickes Manufacturing plume the largest TCE plume in the United States. By contrast, the entire Grand Traverse Bay contains about 9 trillion gallons of water.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1977 banned the use of TCE in food, cosmetic, and drug products in the United States. In Canada, TCE is no longer manufactured.
Also included in EPA’s ban is the elimination of perchlorethylene, commonly known as perc, used in dry cleaning and automotive care products. Perchlorethylene is also a carcinogen.
Good to hear this action has been taken. Thanks for the relevant reporting.