EPA Releases Final Health Assessment for Trichloroethylene

摘要

EPA has released its final health hazard assessment for trichloroethylene(TCE), characterizing it as "carcinogenic to humans and as a human noncancerhealth hazard." The assessment is part of EPA's Integrated RiskInformation System (IRIS), which conducts scientific reviews that underpinmany of the agency's regulatory decisions. The TCE assessment is alsoimportant to industry because it has the potential to influence a wide arrayof personal injury lawsuits and Superfund cleanup decisions. EPA's releaseof the TCE assessment comes amid increased pressure from industryexecutives and some lawmakers who say EPA should halt release of IRISassessments until problems with methodological and other procedures-identified by the Government Accounting Office and the National Academyof Sciences-are resolved.