Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene)

Atlantic Municipal Utilities

Dry cleaning chemical tetrachloroethylene, or perc, can cause cancer. It pollutes soil and groundwater due to emissions from dry cleaning facilities, and automotive, metalworking and other industries. Read More.

The EPA considers tetrachloroethylene a likely human carcinogen. It has been linked with increased incidence of lung, breast and colon cancers. Tetrachloroethylene also damages the liver, kidneys and central nervous system. The California public health goal of 0.06 parts per billion, set to protect against cancer, is 80 times lower than the amount allowed by the federal government, which is a Maximum Contaminant Level of 5 parts per billion.

Click here to read more about carcinogenic VOCs.

 

40

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND40ND
2019ND110ND
2020ND220ND
2021ND30ND
2022N/A00N/A
2023N/A00N/A

ppb = parts per billion

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.06 ppb

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.06 ppb for tetrachloroethylene was defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal, the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. This health guideline protects against cancer.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 5 ppb

The legal limit for tetrachloroethylene, established in 1991, was based on analytical detection limits at the time that the standard was set. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to tetrachloroethylene exposure.

ppb = parts per billion

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2018-01-08OE608454ND
2018-04-10OE643821ND
2018-07-10OE681612ND
2018-10-09OE725013ND
2019-02-25OE774818ND
2019-04-08OE791515ND
2019-07-10OE833098ND
2019-08-13OE849760ND
2019-08-26OE856494ND
2019-09-03OE859936ND
2019-10-02OE874319ND
2019-10-16OE880909ND
2019-11-13OE893482ND
2019-12-10OE904286ND
2019-12-17OE907172ND
2020-01-07OE913788ND
2020-01-07OE913790ND
2020-02-04OE924849ND
2020-02-04OE924850ND
2020-03-11OE940230ND
2020-03-11OE940229ND
2020-04-01OE951113ND
2020-04-07OE954976ND
2020-05-06OE996486ND
2020-05-11OE1005150ND
2020-06-03OE1034270ND
2020-06-09OE1043298ND
2020-07-06OE1095047ND
2020-07-20OE1129773ND
2020-07-20OE1129843ND
2020-08-10OE1169117ND
2020-08-11OE1171952ND
2020-09-01OE1216066ND
2020-09-08OE1235550ND
2020-10-06OE1320157ND
2020-11-03OE1389188ND
2020-12-02OE1470437ND
2021-01-18OE1550882ND
2021-02-16OE1592114ND
2021-08-02OE1779002ND