Industrial Solvent Linked To Parkinson’s Disease
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a persistent environmental pollutant found in U.S. air, water, and soil. Despite partial bans, it’s still used in some industrial processes. Now, recent research from Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona suggests that long-term outdoor exposure to this industrial solvent may be linked to a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers analyzed data from 221,789 people with Parkinson’s and over 1.1 million without the condition. They estimated participants’ TCE exposure using EPA air quality data tied to residential areas. They found that people in the highest exposure group had a 10 percent greater risk of developing Parkinson’s compared to those in the lowest exposure group, even after adjusting for age, smoking, and other air pollutants. Geographic “hot spots” of high TCE exposure were found mainly in the U.S. Rust Belt and near major TCE-emitting facilities, where Parkinson’s risk rose the closer people lived to the sites.
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