The short answer
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an industrial degreasing solvent. It is a known human carcinogen linked to kidney cancer. Exposure is occupational or through contaminated water. Controls, alternatives, and water treatment reduce exposure.
Trichloroethylene is classified as a known human carcinogen (IARC Group 1).
People are mainly exposed by breathing vapors at work or through contaminated water near industrial sites.
It is most strongly linked to kidney cancer.
A carcinogen classification describes hazard — whether something can cause cancer — not your personal risk at a given exposure.
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The full explanation.
The simple version
Trichloroethylene, or TCE, is a solvent used to clean and degrease metal parts. Workers who breathe it and communities with contaminated water have the most exposure. It is a known cause of kidney cancer, and the EPA has moved to ban most uses.
What trichloroethylene is
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a colorless liquid used to degrease metal and make other chemicals. It is a common groundwater contaminant near industrial and military sites. Unlike the related solvent perc, TCE is classified in the strongest evidence category, Group 1, for kidney cancer.
How people are exposed
Common ways people come into contact with it:
- Working with metal degreasing or in chemical manufacturing
- Drinking or bathing in TCE-contaminated water near some sites
- Breathing vapors that can rise from contaminated groundwater into buildings
The cancer connection
TCE is a known cause of kidney cancer, and is also linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and liver cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, places trichloroethylene in Group 1, carcinogenic to humans — the strongest evidence category, meaning there is enough evidence that it can cause cancer in people. In the United States, the National Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens lists it as known to be a human carcinogen.
Hazard is not the same as risk
It helps to separate two ideas that are easy to mix up: hazard and risk. When an agency lists trichloroethylene as a carcinogen, it is making a statement about hazard — whether the substance is capable of causing cancer under some conditions. It is not, by itself, a statement about your personal risk, which depends on how much you are exposed to, for how long, and other factors. Two substances in the same group can carry very different real-world risks. The label answers "can it cause cancer?" — not "how likely is it to cause cancer for me?"
How to lower your exposure
- Support cleanup and monitoring of contaminated groundwater sites
- Use ventilation and protection in industries that use TCE
- Filter or switch water sources where contamination is found
- Rely on EPA actions restricting most TCE uses
If you are looking at your overall cancer risk, small, steady steps add up. See our overview of cancer prevention and what raises cancer risk to put any single exposure in context.
The bottom line
Trichloroethylene is a known human carcinogen (IARC Group 1). The most important thing you can do is understand where exposure comes from and take reasonable steps to reduce it, without losing sleep over a single label. Focus your energy on the biggest, most controllable risks in your own life.
Words to know
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Common questions
▸Does trichloroethylene cause cancer?
Yes. Trichloroethylene is classified as a known human carcinogen, which means there is strong evidence it can cause cancer in people. How much any one person's risk rises depends on how much they are exposed to and for how long.
▸How are people exposed to trichloroethylene?
Most exposure happens by breathing vapors at work or through contaminated water near industrial sites.
▸Which cancers are linked to trichloroethylene?
It is most strongly linked to kidney cancer.
▸How can I reduce my exposure to trichloroethylene?
The main steps are workplace controls, water treatment, and site cleanup.
▸Does a carcinogen label mean I will get cancer?
No. A classification is about hazard — whether trichloroethylene can cause cancer under some conditions — not a prediction that any one exposed person will develop cancer. Your actual risk depends on the amount and length of exposure and other factors.
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