[CPEO-MEF] VOCs: "Widespread TCE contamination at military bases shows need to keep EPA ban"

[Lenny Siegel <Lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Widespread TCE contamination at military bases shows need to keep EPA ban

By Anthony Lacey and Will Moss
Environmental Working Group
APRIL 17, 2025

More than 1,400 active and former military bases in the U.S. have had documented contamination with the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, a new EWG review finds. And much of the pollution is yet to be cleaned up.

This could pose health risks for service members, their families and nearby communities in North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Florida and at least two dozen other states. 

This legacy of contamination includes some sites with TCE levels hundreds or thousands of times the federal drinking water limit on TCE in tap water. It can also contaminate soil and air at bases, creating several ways that people living on or near bases might be exposed.

Despite this sordid story, some in Congress want to scrap the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent ban on using TCE. Undoing that vital ban would keep the tap of TCE pollution flowing around the country.
TCE is a hazardous synthetic, nonflammable and colorless volatile organic compound that’s been in use in the U.S. since the early 1920s. It’s a solvent used in industrial processes for maintenance, degreasing and manufacturing. TCE is also found in household products, such as fabric stain removers, spray adhesives, wood finishes and paints. 

…

For the entire blog, see
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2025/04/widespread-tce-contamination-military-bases-shows-need-keep-epa-ban-0


—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)




_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org