EXPOSURE TO TETRACHLOROETHYLENE VIA CONTAMINATED DRINKING-WATER PIPESIN MASSACHUSETTS - A PREDICTIVE MODEL

A computer model was developed to estimate exposure to tetrachloroethy lene leaching from drinking-water pipes in Massachusetts between 1968 and 1979. The model was to be used for an epidemiologic study of cance r in five communities in Massachusetts. This model assigned a relative cumulative exposure score to each individual participant in the study , based on the geometry, size, age, and water flow through the water p ipe that supplied a particular household and on the individual's durat ion of residence in that household. The results of modeling showed a w ide range of exposure levels among the study participants. The epidemi ologic study is described in the accompanying paper by Aschengrau et a l.3