TCE is an organic chemical compound that was used in industrial solvents and other products before being linked to health problems like cancer. A new study now links exposure to airborne TCE with higher rates of Parkinson’s disease.
TCE was widely used to clean jet engines at military sites — including those in Tucson’s southside. The area was designated as a Superfund site by the EPA when the chemical seeped into groundwater used by surrounding neighborhoods.
In a new study out from the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, researchers found a link between Parkinson’s disease in areas with high levels or ambient — or airborne — TCE. This is the latest study linking the disease to TCE, but the first that focuses specifically on ambient levels of the chemical — like when it’s found in vapor inhaled by someone who’s in the shower.
“Usually what most people think about when they think about TCE is it in water. Although TCE readily moves from water to air via vapor intrusion,” said study co-author Brittany Krzyzanowski.
The study uses air pollution data from 2002 and Parkinson’s diagnoses between 2016 and 2018. Krzyzanowski said her study spaces out the data that way to account for a lag between exposure and diagnosis.
“The assumption here is that, since Parkinson’s disease takes so long to develop, it takes decades to develop after exposure,” she said. “We wanted to make sure our exposure year was biologically plausible.”
Earlier this year, the Tucson City Council moved forward with a resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to supporting survivors of TCE contamination in southside neighborhoods. This year marks the 40th anniversary since local journalist Jane Kay started publishing stories about the local impact of the contamination.
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