Cleaning Chemical TCE Linked To 500% Risk Of Parkinson's Disease

Trichloroethylene, a common and widely used chemical, may be fueling the rise in Parkinson’s disease.

Photo Insert: The chemical, which is sometimes used in industrial solvents, commercial dry cleaners, and some household products like cleaning wipes, paint removers, and carpet cleaners, is associated with a 500% increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The chemical, which is sometimes used in industrial solvents, commercial dry cleaners, and some household products like cleaning wipes, paint removers, and carpet cleaners, is associated with a 500% increased risk of Parkinson’s, the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) reported for SciTechDaily.

For the past 100 years, trichloroethylene (TCE) has been used to decaffeinate coffee, degrease metal, and dry clean clothes. It contaminates the Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune, 15 toxic Superfund sites in Silicon Valley, and up to one-third of groundwater in the US.

TCE causes cancer, is linked to miscarriages and congenital heart disease, and is associated with a 500% increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.

According to the National Cancer Institute, TCE is present in some household products, including cleaning wipes, aerosol cleaning products, tool cleaners, paint removers, spray adhesives, carpet cleaners, and spot removers.

In a hypothesis paper published on Mar. 14, 2023 in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, an international team of researchers—including URMC neurologists Drs. Ray Dorsey, Ruth Schneider and Karl Kieburtz—postulate that TCE may be an invisible cause of Parkinson’s.

They detail the use of the chemical, the evidence linking the toxicant to Parkinson’s, and profile seven individuals, from former NBA basketball player Brian Grant to retired Navy captain Amy Lindberg and the late US Sen. Johnny Isakson, who developed Parkinson’s disease either after working with the chemical or being exposed to it.

Half of the most toxic Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund sites contain TCE.

Fifteen sites are in California’s Silicon Valley, where the chemicals were used to clean electronics and computer chips. TCE is found in military bases, including Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, a million Marines, their families, and civilians that worked or resided at the base were exposed to drinking water levels of TCE and perchloroethylene (PCE), a close chemical cousin, that were up to 280 times higher than safe levels.

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