Thousands of chemical injury lawsuits are filed every year against employers in the U.S. In some cases, the plaintiff walks away with a multi-million dollar settlement, but it’s hard to be envious of the person.

When this level of compensation is awarded, the plaintiff typically has chronic injuries that reduce quality of life, permanently reduce or eliminate earning power, and may even cause him to be on his deathbed, dying of chemical injuries during the lawsuit settlement phase, never to see a cent of the big payout.

It’s a bleak assessment of what can happen when a worker suffers chronic TCE exposure over a period of many months or years. But it’s also a truthful portrait of what can happen. Just ask the thousands of families who have lost a loved one due to toxic effects TCE or a similarly dangerous solvent have on the body.

TCE and Human Health

TCE is an initialism that stands for “Tetrachloroethylene” — a toxic chlorocarbon with the chemical formula Cl₂C=CCl₂. TCE also goes by the names “tetrachloroethene”, “perchloroethylene”, “perc”, and “PERC”.

Regardless of what you call it, TCE has a long list of negative effects on the body, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorizing the substance as “cancerous by all routes of exposure” in 2011. Nearly six years later, some organizations are still using TCE via methods and in quantities that have a deleterious effect on the health of workers. Like many other toxic chemicals used in industry, TCE produces both acute and chronic effects due to temporary and chronic exposure, respectively.

TCE Facts: Acute Exposure

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) — a federal public health agency that operates as a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — acute exposure to TCE can cause health conditions including but not limited to:

• Drowsiness
• Mucous membrane irritation
• Memory problems
• Watery eyes
• Decreased reaction time
• Decreased dexterity
• Fatigue

For more information on effects of acute TCE exposure, visit the ATSDR’s TCE page.

TCE Facts: Chronic Exposure

The ATSDR reports that chronic exposure to TCE can cause health conditions including but not limited to:

• Reduced number of word associations
• Ataxia
• Decreased appetite
• Headache
• Short-term memory loss
• Sleep disturbances
• Vertigo
• Neurobehavioral deficits

For more information on effects of chronic TCE exposure, visit the ATSDR’s TCE page.

These TCE facts about human health should move organizations that use TCE to replace the solution with one that has a better safety profile. Using green chemistry, Ecolink offers an array of industrial solvents that meet this description and can provide green custom solvents, as well.

Contact Us Today

For more information about TCE facts or to order a replacement for TCE solvent, call Ecolink today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out our contact form. For over 25 years, we’ve helped organizations become better stewards to their workers and the environment by providing low-cost, highly effective, environmentally preferred industrial solvents. We’d love to help you do the same!