More than 1,400 active and former military bases in the U.S. have had documented contamination with the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, a new EWG review finds. And much of the pollution is yet to be cleaned up.
This could pose health risks for service members, their families and nearby communities in North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Florida and at least two dozen other states.
This legacy of contamination includes some sites with TCE levels hundreds or thousands of times the federal drinking water limit on TCE in tap water. It can also contaminate soil and air at bases, creating several ways that people living on or near bases might be exposed.
Despite this sordid story, some in Congress want to scrap the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent ban on using TCE. Undoing that vital ban would keep the tap of TCE pollution flowing around the country.
TCE is a hazardous synthetic, nonflammable and colorless volatile organic compound that’s been in use in the U.S. since the early 1920s. It’s a solvent used in industrial processes for maintenance, degreasing and manufacturing. TCE is also found in household products, such as fabric stain removers, spray adhesives, wood finishes and paints.
People can also be exposed by breathing TCE, absorbing it through skin or drinking water contaminated with the chemical.
The sprawling reach of TCE contamination creates major health concerns for service members, their families and communities near these bases. Groundwater is often, though not always, a significant source of drinking water, exposing people who drink TCE-contamined water.
Exposure to the chemical through drinking water has not only been linked to cancer but also to a greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, fetal heart defects, and more.
TCE exposure from the air, through a process known as vapor intrusion, can also be a significant source of exposure for people living on or around contaminated sites. It occurs when TCE in groundwater and soil is released as a gas, getting into the lungs of those inhaling it.
In December 2024, the EPA finalized its long-overdue due ban on most uses of TCE. That rule can’t reverse past contamination. But it can help to finally turn off the tap on contamination.
EWG’s review of federal data on active and former Defense Department sites shows that years of lax regulation have resulted in widespread TCE contamination nationwide. And the astronomical TCE levels at some sites demonstrate why it’s vital for lawmakers to oppose any efforts to repeal the agency’s ban.
Contamination across the U.S.
In dozens of states, TCE contaminates groundwater at bases at levels that would threaten human health, EWG found in an analysis of federal government data.
This includes the notorious contamination at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina. The solvent, and other chemicals, polluted the base’s drinking water for decades, increasing cancer risks for civilian and military personnel and their families. The TCE contamination at Camp Lejeune is among the worst on record in the U.S. and it has wrecked lives by causing long term health harms and even death.
Also in North Carolina, Fort Bragg has recorded TCE levels in some groundwater monitoring wells ranging from 6.15 parts per billion, or ppb, to as high as 132 ppb, EWG’s review found. The federal limit on TCE in drinking water is 5 ppb, and even that may not protect against health risks.
In Georgia, Naval Submarine Base King’s Bay recorded TCE levels of 1.2 million ppb in groundwater. That’s more than 240,000 times over the legal federal limit allowed in tap water.
The EPA set its maximum contaminant level, or MCL, for TCE in drinking water at 5 ppb. But even though the agency designated a legal limit in drinking water, legal doesn’t always mean safe. That’s because the MCL was set in 1987 and doesn’t account for the latest science on the health risks of TCE exposure. Research shows exposure to TCE at levels below the federal MCL can still lead to health harms, even though those levels are legal.
Many other groundwater samples from bases around the U.S. violate the EPA limit, like Ohio’s Rickenbacker Air Force Base recording of 6,950 ppb of TCE at its peak. In Florida, Tyndall Air Force Base has detected TCE at up to 1,800 ppb, and further up the east coast, on Long Island, New York, the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at Calverton recorded TCE levels of 15,700 ppb in the groundwater.
Some bases have tried tackling the contamination with cleanup, but that’s little comfort to the military families who have already been exposed to TCE for years.
The EPA ban will save lives
After learning the risks associated with TCE exposure, some military facilities have taken steps to limit exposure by requiring workers to use personal protective equipment. Many health-related risks are present nonetheless from existing contamination.
The EPA’s TCE ban is a much-needed step toward preventing a repeat of the disastrous widespread contamination and public health crises at military bases of recent decades.
Most industrial and commercial uses of TCE will be phased out within one year under the rule as written. But the agency is poised to delay implementation of the ban by three months. Under the rule, some uses, like in the making of medical devices, battery parts and DOD aerospace components, may be phased out over as long as seven to 20 years.
Many alternatives to TCE already exist for certain uses, as Minnesota and New York already banned use of the chemical in 2020 and 2021, respectively. TCE will be allowed for essential laboratory activities until 2074.
Through banning most uses of the cancer-causing chemical, the agency is helping to turn off the tap on further TCE pollution. The action will help save lives by reducing exposure to this toxic substance that has a long and sordid history of legacy pollution and health harms.
Congress should not take up any legislative effort to scrap the agency’s ban, and the EPA must move quickly to fully implement the rule. Curbing TCE pollution is the only right response to decades of contamination and countless lives lost.
