Estimating the risks of liver and lung cancer in humans exposed to trichloroethylene using a physiological model

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a common and persistent environmental contaminant found in groundwater near most large cities and at Superfund landfill sites. In many cases, the groundwater is the primary source for water consumption. Because of the widespread distribution of TCE in the environment, a significant fraction of the population may ingest or inhale TCE over an extended period of time. Typically, environmental concentrations of TCE are in the ppb range. Health concerns for environmental exposure to TCE stem largely from positive outcomes in laboratory cancer bioassay studies with rodents at relatively high exposure concentrations. Epidemiological evidence that TCE is a human carcinogen is equivocal.