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The United States Environmental Protection Agency announced the issuance of a draft risk evaluation (“Draft”) for trichloroethylene (“TCE”).

See EPA Document #740R18008 (Feb. 21, 2020).

The Draft was prepared by the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

TCE is generally described as a nonflammable, colorless liquid with a somewhat sweet odor.

Uses of TCE include:

• Solvent to remove grease from metal parts
• An ingredient in:
  • Adhesives
  • Paint removers
  • Typewriter correction fluids
  • Spot removers
• Intermediate for refrigerant manufacture
• Spotting agent in dry cleaning

TCE does not occur naturally. It is created by chemical synthesis.

TCE has been found in the subsurface soil and groundwater, along with surface waters, as the result of the manufacture, use and disposal of the chemical.

Sections of the 748-page Draft include:

• Exposures
• Hazards
• Risk Characterization
• Risk Determination

Appendices include:

• Regulatory History
• List of Supplemental Documents
• Environmental Exposures
• Consumer Exposures
• Environmental Hazards
• Benchmark Dose Analysis
• Weight of Evidence for Congenital Heart Defects
• Meta-Analysis for Cancer
• Approach for Estimating Water Releases from Manufacturing Sites Using Effluent Guidelines
• Sample Calculations for Calculating Acute and Chronic Inhalation Exposure
• Vapor Degreasing and Cold Cleaning Near-Field/Far-Field Inhalation Exposure Models Approach and Parameters
• Brake Servicing Near-Field/Far-Field Inhalation Exposure Model Approach and Parameters
• Spot Cleaning Near-Field/Far-Field Inhalation Exposure Model Approach and Parameters
• Benchmark Dose Modeling Update for Nested Fetal
• Considerations for BMD Modeling and Application of Uncertainty Factors
• Occupational Inhalation Exposure and Water Release Assessment

A link to the Draft can be found here.