WASHINGTON -- 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.
