US EPA

On November 3, 2009, the Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene and the charge to external peer reviewers were released for external peer review and public comment. The Toxicological Review and charge were reviewed internally by EPA and by other federal agencies and White House Offices before public release. In the new IRIS process, introduced by the EPA Administrator, all written comments on IRIS assessments submitted by other federal agencies and White House Offices will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the interagency science consultation draft of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene and the charge to external peer reviewers are posted on this site.

The draft Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene (TCE) provides scientific support and rationale for the hazard and dose-response assessment pertaining to chronic exposure to TCE. TCE is a chlorinated solvent that has been widely used as a metal degreaser, as a chemical intermediate and extractant, and as a component of some consumer products. TCE is designated as a Hazardous Air Pollutant, is a common groundwater contaminant, and has been found at more than 1,500 hazardous waste sites. TCE enters the atmosphere from vapor degreasing operations or volatilization from contaminated soils, surface waters via direct discharges, and groundwater through leaching from disposal operations and hazardous waste sites. In addition, TCE can be released to indoor air from the use of TCE-containing consumer products, volatilization from water supplies, and vapor intrusion through walls and floors from contaminated soil and groundwater.

The purpose of this Toxicological Review is to provide scientific support and rationale for the hazard and dose-response assessment in IRIS pertaining to chronic exposure to trichloroethylene. It is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on the chemical or toxicological nature of trichloroethylene.

Following external peer review the assessment will be revised taking into consideration external peer review and public comments, will undergo a final EPA internal review and a review by and science discussion with other federal agencies and White House offices, and will be posted to the IRIS database.

U.S. EPA. IRIS Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene (Interagency Science Consultation Draft). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-09/011C, 2009.

Instructions for accessing supplementary files to Appendices A, F, and G.
(1) Download the ".zip" file.
(2) "Extract" files using Microsoft Windows or equivalent decompression software, creating a folder named "Appendix.linked.files"
(3) Move the folder "Appendix.linked.files" to the same directory where the PDF file for Appendix A, F, or G is located.
(4) Open the PDF file for Appendix A, F, or G using Adobe Acrobat Reader. To open the supplementary files, click on the appropriate links.