Tetrachloroethylene

Regional record

Western New York history

• PCE investigations in Western New York commonly trace to former dry-cleaning and industrial-solvent use, including urban properties later converted to different uses.
• Linked Atlas records distinguish detections beneath a source property from confirmed impacts in another building.

These examples summarize the linked Atlas place records. Open those records for site-specific dates, findings, cleanup actions, and sources.

Environmental behavior

Persistence and movement

PCE can persist in soil and groundwater and can migrate as vapor into overlying buildings.

Pathways

How exposure may occur

• Breathing workplace air, indoor air, or soil vapor
• Drinking contaminated water
• Contact with solvent or contaminated material

People

Potential long-term human effects

• Long-term exposure may affect the nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, and reproduction.
• Health agencies evaluate PCE as a cancer hazard based on human and animal evidence.

Other living systems

Potential ecological effects

• PCE can harm aquatic organisms at sufficient concentrations.
• Its movement through groundwater can create long-lived subsurface source areas.

Limits

Important uncertainty

Indoor-air risk requires building-specific vapor data; groundwater detection alone does not establish indoor exposure.