What Are TCE And PCE?

Hundreds of families who lived at the Marines' Camp Lejune over the last 30 years have filed claims over chemicals in drinking water.

What are TCE and PCE, and how can they hurt people?

Both are man-made chemicals that are used as degreasers and in dry cleaning, and the government calls both probably carcinogens.

TCE's formal name is trichloroethylene. PCE goes by tetrachloroethylene or perchloroethylene, and is sometimes also called perc.

IdahoGeology.com says that TCE and PCE typically get into drinking water aquifers when it they are improperly disposed of and are able to leach into groundwater.

Chronic exposure can cause damage to the liver, the kidneys and the central nervous system, the site reports. TCE is believed to produce liver cancer in mice and kidney cancer in rats.

Wikipedia.com says that they substances are clear, non-flammable liquids that quickly vaporize. They have a sweet smell that is easily detected, even in small concentrations.

The online, collaborative encyclopedia also says that TCE was used from about 1930 as a anesthetic and analgesic in millions of patients.

Breathing vapors can cause dizziness, headache, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in speaking and walking, unconsciousness and death.

The Environmental Protection Agency says says in a fact sheet production of TCE increased from just over 260,000 pounds in 1981 to 320 million pounds in 1991.