Why Make the Switch from TCE?
- To Protect Workers — TCE has potentially dangerous health hazards. Breathing small amounts may cause headaches, lung irritation, dizziness, poor coordination, and difficulty concentrating. Breathing large amounts of trichloroethylene may cause impaired heart function, unconsciousness, and death. Breathing it for long periods may cause nerve, kidney, and liver damage. TCE may also cause cancer; the National Toxicology Program (NTP) determined that TCE is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
- To Protect the Environment — TCE has potentially dangerous environmental hazards. It evaporates quickly into the air and can break down into phosgene, a known lung irritant. Precipitation carries TCE to groundwater. In soil, it can filter into ground and drinking water supplies. Long persistence in soil and ground water makes TCE the number one contaminant of groundwater.
- To Reduce Paperwork – TCE is a regulated chemical that requires users to file reports with state and federal agencies. Eliminate TCE and you eliminate reporting.
This page updated Thursday September 28 2006