Updated:2006-07-27 21:57:28
Chemical in Drinking Water Causes Cancer
By JOHN HEILPRIN
AP
WASHINGTON (July 27) - Growing scientific evidence suggests the
most widespread industrial contaminant in drinking water -- a
solvent used in adhesives, paint and spot removers -- can cause
cancer in people.
The National Academy of Sciences reported Thursday that a lot
more is known about the cancer risks and other health hazards
from exposure to trichloroethylene than there was five years ago
when the Environmental Protection Agency took steps to regulate
it more strictly.
"Armed with the results from the NAS review, EPA will
aggressively move forward" on a new risk assessment of TCE,
spokeswoman Jennifer Wood said Thursday. "EPA will determine
whether or not to address the drinking water standard once the
risk assessment is complete."
TCE, which is also widely used to remove grease from metal parts
in airplanes and to clean fuel lines at missile sites, is known
to cause cancer in some laboratory animals. EPA was blocked from
elevating its assessment of the chemical's risks in people by
the Defense Department, Energy Department and NASA, all of which
have sites polluted with it.
TCE is a colorless liquid that evaporates at room temperatures
and has a somewhat sweet odor and taste. It is one of the most
common pollutants found in the air, soil and water at U.S.
military bases. Until the mid-1970s, it also was used as a
surgical anesthetic.
It also has been found at about 60 percent of the nation's worst
contaminated sites in the Superfund cleanup program, the academy
said.
Its 379-page report recommends that EPA revise its assessment of
TCE's risks using "currently available data" so no more time is
wasted.
That's a step that could lead to stricter regulations. EPA
currently requires limiting TCE to no more than 5 parts per
billion parts of drinking water. A stricter regulation could, in
turn, force the government to require more thorough cleanups at
military and other sites.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., said the report should prompt the
government to move faster in cleaning up TCE contamination like
that found in his home state and nationally.
"It is no longer acceptable for the government and local
polluters to claim that health risks associated with TCE are
simply scientific theory when we know that they are compelling
scientific fact," said Hinchey, who is on the Appropriations
subcommittee that oversees the environment.
A committee of academy experts said "a large body of
epidemiologic data is available" on TCE showing the chemical is
a possible cause of kidney cancer, reproductive and
developmental damage, impaired neurological function and
autoimmune disease.
"The committee found that the evidence on carcinogenic risk and
other health hazards from exposure to trichloroethylene has
strengthened since 2001," the report said. "Hundreds of waste
sites are contaminated with trichloroethylene, and it is well
documented that individuals in many communities are exposed to
the chemical, with associated health risks."
In 2001, EPA issued a draft document saying the risks of TCE
causing cancer in humans were higher than previously thought.
But that pronouncement was dropped after other federal agencies
accused EPA of inflating the risks.
To mediate the issue, the Bush administration asked the academy
to study the issue.
Trichloroethylene - White Paper
An increase in lymphoma incidence was observed in females, but
the authors did not attribute the effect to trichloroethylene
exposure. ...
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US Environmental Protection Agency Water Web Site.
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