Samantha Lovell is a Project Specialist. Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager.
Today, families from across the country came to Washington, DC to tell lawmakers how the toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) has impacted their lives.
TCE is a known human carcinogen that is toxic to the immune system and kidneys, and can cause fetal heart damage – among other harmful health effects. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed bans on high-risk uses of TCE under the newly reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) back in December 2016 and January 2017, but under this Administration, the agency has abandoned these bans.
TCE is also one of the first 10 chemicals slated for a broad risk review by EPA under TSCA. Unfortunately, EPA plans to ignore the major exposures Americans face from TCE and other toxic chemicals released to our air, water and land – yet another sign that EPA is giving in to the chemical industry to the detriment of the public’s health.
In a moving press conference today led by Sen. Tom Udall, several families shared their stories in an effort to pressure EPA to finalize the bans and take other necessary steps to protect communities across the country from TCE.
- Kari Rhinehart spoke about her daughter, who passed away from a brain tumor four years ago, and noted the high rate of pediatric cancer in Johnson County, Indiana – where TCE has been detected in water, soil, and even in the air of homes in their community.
- Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine Master Sergeant who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, spoke about his daughter who died of leukemia following exposure to TCE and other toxic chemicals.
- Linda and Oscar Robles discussed the lasting, harmful health effects of TCE contamination of the drinking water in their community of Tucson, Arizona.
- Jan Peterson shared the story of her husband, who in his job regularly used a TCE solution to clean copiers and typewriters, and who passed away after battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Loreen Hackett from Hoosick Falls, New York, spoke about her experience living across the street from a former plant that is now designated a Superfund site because of TCE contamination.
These families’ experiences reveal the stark consequences of the decisions made every day in Washington, DC – and the deadly impacts of delaying critical action on toxic chemicals.
Also today, the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing featuring Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. At the hearing, Sen. Cory Booker pressed Wheeler on EPA’s recent retreats from health-protective implementation of TSCA and its inaction on TCE.
Booker shared the stories of the families from Johnson County, Indiana – who were in the audience – and urged Wheeler both to finalize the proposed bans on TCE and to consider all sources of exposure to the chemical when assessing the risks of its other many uses. Booker asked Wheeler, “would you commit to comprehensively reviewing the risks of chemicals by including known releases into our air, land, and water?”
Wheeler’s response? “It is my understanding that we are looking at those pathways … I will need to double-check with our chemical office on that.”
Unfortunately, when Wheeler does his double-checking, he will learn that the Agency will ignore known exposures to TCE in our air, land, and water – an estimated 12 million pounds released annually – as well as such exposures to other toxic chemicals. These are the very exposures that families across the country – like those who came to Washington, DC today – are directly facing.
EDF urges lawmakers and EPA to listen to the voices of these families. EPA must get the proposed TCE bans over the finish line and comprehensively evaluate all other uses and exposures to the chemical – including exposures through air, water, and land.
You can raise your voice too! Email your elected officials today, and tell them Americans need to be protected from this dangerous chemical.
3 Comments
Since the Love Canal Debacle in the 60’s and 70″s resulting in the First US Superfund site. The major chemical and oil/Gas industries have place thousands of lobbyists in DC and each capital of each State to Stop any real legislation being put in place for any chemical product being tested for toxicity to Humans and the Animal/Aquatic population, this includes dumping indiscriminately onto the Soils, into land fills,rivers/streams and the oceans, even mixed and blended into Home heating fuels like they did in NY with PCB’s.
No one has ever gone to jail form the companies who made these toxic chemicals and got into the Environment.
So we are here today with huge areas of this country contaminated for the sake of the Greed of these corporations and their Bottom line fueled by Wall St and Banking Mavens- who have not real souls other than profits.
What happens when one of their family members becomes ill and gets cancers etc from the Chemicals we are being exposed too. Will they change their ways and start doing the right thing with their chemicals they produce and sell untested or covered up by false testing reports?
Congress needs to get tough and kick all Lobbyists out of DC and every state, because the Constitution says “WE the People” not “we the Corporations who do not represent “We the People” in any decisions they want pushed through for there benefit ONLY.
Thank you as always to the EDF for your tireless work.
Can you please explain how the children were and how we are currently exposed to TCE?
It is a dry cleaning chemical, but I could not find info on how it is contaminating our waterways and soils.
Thank you.
Thank you, Christine, for your interest in this issue. Over 170 million pounds of TCE are manufactured in the U.S. every year. While it is used in dry cleaning, it is also used in a number of other commercial industries such as vapor degreasing and refrigerant manufacturing. When these industries make, use, or dispose of the chemical, it can contaminate our air, waterways and soil. EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory shows that in 2016 alone, over 12 million pounds of TCE was released by such facilities into our environment. People who live near sites that manufacture, process, use, or dispose of TCE are most at risk of contamination – including children. Most of the families who recently came to Washington, DC to speak out on this issue have high levels of TCE in their community due to contamination from shut down facilities that has not been adequately cleaned up. In addition, children may be exposed directly through a variety of consumer uses of TCE, including certain carpet cleaners, cleaning wipes, and spot removers.
You can learn more here:
• https://www.edf.org/health/banning-high-risk-uses-trichloroethylene-tce
• https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/rare-cancers-franklin-spur-parents-support-tce-ban-head-washington-152866/