International Researchers Pushes US Government to Ban TCE Chemical that Causes Parkinson's Disease

A team of international researchers pushes the United States government to ban Trichloroethylene as it causes Parkinson's Disease. This chemical is widely used as a solvent for dry cleaning, paint removals, and machine and equipment cleanings.

TCE & Parkinson's Disease

International researchers argue that people who have been exposed to TCE-contaminated water or air have a 500% increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. According to a report from Interesting Engineering, these findings are based on several case studies of seven patients suffering from the disease.

The seven patients, including former NBA player Brian Grant and late US Senator Johnny Isakson, had a known history of living or working near sites with high TCE levels, like the military base Camp Lejeune. While this study is still based on indirect and limited data, researchers presented previous studies that solidify their hypotheses.

The association of TCE and Parkison's has been highlighted by many studies for a long time now, 50 years ago to be exact. Despite this, the chemical remains widely present throughout the United States. TCE is a colorless solvent used in several industries in commercial or manufacturing facilities.

Aside from this, it is also used as an ingredient in common household cleaning products including refrigerants and dry-cleaning, which put a lot of people at risk for exposure to TCE. The chemical can also contaminate soil and groundwater.

"Tens of millions have been exposed to the chemical through the water they drink and the indoor air they breathe.," University of Rochester Medical Center Neurologist and Author Ray Dorsey, MD stated. Along with Dorsey is an international team of researchers, including Ruth Schneider, MD, and Karl Kieburtz, MD.

With this, the University of Rochester Medical Center stated on its website that the authors call the United States government for ending the use of these chemicals. Two states already banned TCE but the federal government has still not despite these findings. Last year, EPA recently found that the chemicals pose "an unreasonable risk to human health."

Previous Studies

The paper was published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, and many of these researchers presented previous studies as evidence to back their findings.

For instance, a group of researchers worked on a clinical trial for Parkinson's disease in a 2008 case study. Gizmodo reported that these researchers described finding patients with a share long history of TCE exposure.

In 2012, a set of twins was studied and researchers found an increased risk in siblings with likely exposure to TCE and other suspect chemicals. Meanwhile, other studies indicated that where researchers used animals to obtain answers, such as TCE can also harm the specific network of neurons implicated in the disease.