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THE EDUCATION OF SHANNON: MORE ABOUT TCE
MAIN - MORE ABOUT TCE

WHAT IS TCE AND WHAT HEALTH EFFECTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT?

TCE or trichloroethylene is a colourless liquid at room temperature with an odour similar to ether or chloroform. It is a man-made chemical that is mainly used as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts. It is used in the automotive and metals industries. It is also used as a chemical (building block) to make other chemicals.


TCE: WATER WOES
From Marketplace

Find out more about TCE in Canada and what you can do about it. More>
TCE evaporates readily from surface water but may be found in groundwater. It can be introduced into groundwater as a result of industrial effluents or spills or leaking from old dumpsites. Canadians can be exposed to TCE through its presence in drinking water, air and food. Certain segments of the population could be exposed via contaminated soil or occupational settings.

TCE is still used as a solvent to clean metal parts, but its use has decreased. TCE is not manufactured in Canada, and The Solvent Degreasing Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act of 1999, which came into force in July, 2003, are designed to significantly reduce the use and release into the environment of TCE in Canada. Effective 2007, there will be a mandated 65% reduction in use of TCE.

Shannon's doctor
Dr. Claude Juneau discovered that Shannon had a disproportionate amount of cancer cases for such a small town.
Recent studies suggest a link between long-term exposure to high levels of TCE and cancer. Studies also indicate a possible link between exposure to TCE and potential reproductive effects associated with fetal heart development. Animal studies have shown links to kidney and testicular tumours in rats and pulmonary and liver tumours in mice. Based on both animal and human studies, TCE has been classified as probably carcinogenic to humans.

To find out more about TCE, you can visit the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry website.

CANADA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD

The maximum allowable level of TCE in drinking water is often measured in parts per billion (ppb). It is Health Canada’s responsibility to set a guideline for a maximum allowable level, but it is only a guideline. Monitoring water quality is a provincial jurisdiction, unless it is on federally owned land. Following the TCE contamination in Shannon and the high levels found in some homes (1000 ppb), the Quebec government reduced the maximum allowable level to 5 ppb. Health Canada also reviewed the health risks and proposed the same 5ppb guideline nationally.

In July 2005, the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water and Health Canada accepted the more stringent limit. The United States also sets its limit at 5ppb, the European Union at 10ppb and Australia at 30ppb.


Shannon is drilling for its own source of uncontaminated water to pump through the new aqueduct system.

To find out more about TCE and water quality in Canada, you can visit Health Canada’s website.

OTHER FEDERALLY CONTAMINATED SITES

In addition to Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, the federal government owns over 1,700 other contaminated sites across Canada. The sites range from abandoned mines in the north to the water off the coast of Nova Scotia. The contaminants at these sites vary as well, from heavy metals to PCBs and PAHs.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat produces a listing of all known federal contaminated sites. The list can be viewed by government department, by province and territory or by city.

If you want to check what federal contaminated land can be found where you live, you can check the Treasury Board of Canada website.

Canada’s environmental watchdog, Johanne Gélinas, who is formally known as Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development has been very critical of the federal government and how it has handled the clean up of federally contaminated sites. She wants one central authority to be responsible for coordinating the cleanup of all these lands, and she also wants the government to assess and prioritize the worst sites in Canada so that they can be cleaned up first. In her 2002 annual report, the Commissioner dealt specifically with what she saw as problems regarding the clean up of federally contaminated lands.

If you want to take a look at her recommendations and various government departments’ responses here.

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