A group of senators yesterday introduced a bill that would require U.S. EPA to limit public exposure to drinking water polluted by the degreasing solvent trichloroethylene, or TCE.
The same chemical was found in the contaminated water at the Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and has been linked to birth defects and childhood cancers. EPA recently launched an investigation into whether TCE and the dry-cleaning agent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were buried in the 1980s at the base.
The bill would require EPA to establish standards to limit TCE levels in drinking water and vapor. EPA classified the chemical as one of the most widespread contaminants in the country. It is sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and John Kerry (Mass.).
The current level of TCE has not been updated since 1987 and the federal government does not plan to update it until at least 2010, according to Kerry's office.
"The current standard for TCE levels in drinking water is far outdated, and EPA has failed in giving this issue immediate attention," Kerry said in a statement. "In light of reports that TCE levels in drinking water caused sickness, birth defects and death, it is urgent it is that we update the standard today."
The bill, also known as the "TCE Reduction Act," would require EPA to issue a revised health advisory for TCE within six months of enactment, create draft health standards within 12 months of enactment and put out final drinking water standards within 18 months.
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