Trichloroethylene

Trichloroethylene is a volatile chlorinated solvent once widely used for metal degreasing and surgical anesthesia. Exposure can cause cancer and other serious health effects.

Volatile organic compound: A carbon-containing chemical that readily evaporates under ordinary conditions. Its volatility lets trichloroethylene migrate from contaminated soil and groundwater into indoor air.
Metal degreasing: The removal of oils, grease, and residues from metal parts, often using solvents. Trichloroethylene's solvency and volatility made it a common industrial degreaser.
International Agency for Research on Cancer: A World Health Organization agency that evaluates evidence on the causes of cancer. It classifies trichloroethylene as carcinogenic to humans, Group 1.
Perchloroethylene: A chlorinated solvent widely used in dry cleaning and industrial degreasing. It is chemically related and often replaced trichloroethylene in degreasing and textile cleaning.
Epidemiology: The study of how health outcomes are distributed across populations and what influences them. Human studies provide the central evidence linking trichloroethylene exposure with cancer.
Henry's law: A relationship describing how a gas's concentration above a liquid depends on its concentration in that liquid. It helps explain why dissolved trichloroethylene can escape groundwater into soil gas and buildings.
Vapor degreasing: A cleaning process in which solvent vapor condenses on parts to dissolve grease and carry away residues. This process used heated trichloroethylene and could release substantial solvent vapor.
United States Environmental Protection Agency: The federal agency responsible for protecting human health and the environment in the United States. Its assessments and regulations address trichloroethylene's risks in drinking water, air, and workplaces.
1,1,1-Trichloroethane: A chlorinated solvent formerly used in cleaners and degreasers, later restricted for ozone depletion. It served as a degreasing alternative but has a different environmental fate and health profile.
Dose-response relationship: The relationship between the amount of an exposure and the magnitude or likelihood of an effect. Estimating cancer risk depends on how risk changes with trichloroethylene dose and duration.

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1,2-DichloroethaneCompared with: It is a chlorinated solvent, unlike 1,2-dichloroethane’s chiefly feedstock role.