Understanding the potential health impacts of TCE

The main chemical of concern in the Woodville North EPA assessment area is trichloroethene (TCE). TCE is a colourless liquid industrial chemical that is used widely in industry for metal cleaning and in the production of products such as adhesives, lacquers, dyes, perfumes and soaps.

In the past, TCE was also used in many other applications such as removing caffeine from coffee beans in the production of decaffeinated coffee, in dry cleaning and as an anaesthetic for surgery. In the environment, TCE breaks down rapidly in air and surface water but much more slowly in soil and groundwater.

For information about the health impacts related to groundwater contamination and exposure to TCE, visit:
Chlorinated solvents in groundwater | SA Health
Trichloroethene (TCE) | SA Health