Trichloroethylene in the environment: Public health concerns

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) prepares toxic ological profiles for hazardous substances found at waste sites and elsewhe re in the environment. In 1997 the agency updated its toxicological profile for trichloroethylene and included new and expanded information on the hea lth effects associated with exposures to trichloroethylene. Several endpoin ts of concern are described in the profile. However, in this paper only res ults from studies reporting developmental and carcinogenic effects from tri chloroethylene exposures in human and experimental animal studies are summa rized and evaluated. Based on its assessment of the available studies and l imitations in the reported findings, ATSDR has determined there is limited but suggestive evidence that developmental effects may be a concern for som e persons exposed to TCE in drinking water. Moreover, developmental effects may be the most sensitive of all non-cancer health effects associated with trichloroethylene exposures. Significant questions remain about the likely mode (s) of action for TCE-induced carcinogenesis in humans and the basis for differences in pharmacokinetics handling of TCE across animal strains a nd sex. However, on the basis of animal data and the suggestive, yet inconc lusive, human data available, ATSDR has determined that cancer should be an effect of concern for people exposed to TCE in the environment, ATSDR agre es that the available literature supports the premise that TCE is "reasonab ly anticipated to be a human carcinogen" as defined by the U.S. National To xicology Program.