II 

Calendar No. 1057 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1911 

[Report No. 110–486] 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of susceptible 

populations, including pregnant women, infants, and children, by requiring a health advisory, drinking water standard, and reference concentration for trichloroethylene vapor intrusion, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2007 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mrs. DOLE, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. 

KERRY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

SEPTEMBER 24 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Reported by Mrs. BOXER, without amendment 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health 

of susceptible populations, including pregnant women, 

infants, and children, by requiring a health advisory, 

drinking water standard, and reference concentration for 

trichloroethylene vapor intrusion, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Toxic Chemical Exposure Reduction Act of 2008’’ or the 

4 ‘‘TCE Reduction Act of 2008’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose. 

TITLE I—HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING 

WATER REGULATION FOR TRICHLOROETHYLENE 

Sec. 101. Health advisory and national primary drinking water regulation for 

trichloroethylene. 

TITLE II—REDUCING DANGEROUS VAPOR INTRUSION FROM 

CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER AND SOILS 

Sec. 201. Health advisory and reference concentration for trichloroethylene. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

9 (1) trichloroethylene is a metal degreaser and 

10 an ingredient in adhesives and paint removers; 

11 (2)(A) waste from the use and improper dis12 posal of chemicals containing trichloroethylene is 

13 widespread in soil and water; 

14 (B) more than 1,000 waste sites in the United 

15 States are contaminated with trichloroethylene; 

16 (C) it is well documented that individuals in 

17 many communities are exposed to trichloroethylene 

18 and experience associated health risks; 

19 (D) certain human subpopulations might be at 

20 increased risk to trichloroethylene exposure because 


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1 of age, genetic polymorphisms, or preexisting dis2 eases; and 

3 (E) in utero exposure to trichloroethylene has 

4 been associated with birth defects and childhood dis5 eases, including cancer; 

6 (3) according to the report of the National 

7 Academy of Sciences entitled ‘‘Assessing the Human 

8 Health Risks of Trichloroethylene: Key Scientific 

9 Issues’’— 

10 (A) acute exposures to trichloroethylene oc11 curring as a result of occupational industrial 

12 accidents are associated with nerve damage and 

13 residual neurological deficits, including memory 

14 loss; 

15 (B) high-concentration exposure to air con16 taminated with trichloroethylene— 

17 (i) causes nervous system damage; 

18 (ii) has been associated with general19 ized skin eruptions and other more severe 

20 skin and mucus membrane conditions, such 

21 as Stevens-Johnson syndrome; and 

22 (iii) can cause liver dysfunction, lead23 ing to jaundice, hepatomegaly, and hepatic 

24 encephalopathy; 


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1 (C) trichloroethylene in drinking water can 

2 alter the therapeutic action of medications, in3 cluding anticoagulants and barbiturates; 

4 (D) evidence regarding carcinogenic risk 

5 and other health hazards from exposure to tri6 chloroethylene has strengthened since 2001, 

7 and there is strong evidence that exposure to 

8 trichloroethylene in a dose-dependent manner is 

9 associated in humans with increased rates of— 

10 (i) kidney cancer; and 

11 (ii) leukemia; 

12 (E) exposure to mixtures of volatile or13 ganic compound contaminants in groundwater, 

14 in combination with trichloroethylene, can accel15 erate tumor growth in humans; and 

16 (F) evidence from animal-related and epi17 demiological studies suggests that several repro18 ductive and developmental toxicity end-points 

19 may be associated with trichloroethylene expo20 sure, including— 

21 (i) infertility in males and females; 

22 (ii) impaired intrauterine growth and 

23 development; and 

24 (iii) cardiac teratogenesis; 


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1 (4) the report referred to in paragraph (3) rec2 ommended the use of currently available data to fi3 nalize a risk assessment to ensure that risk manage4 ment decisions can be made expeditiously; 

5 (5)(A) exposures to volatile organic compound 

6 vapors from migration to indoor air have become a 

7 concern at sites throughout the United States, in8 cluding many Superfund sites under the Comprehen9 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

10 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); 

11 (B) potential routes of exposure to trichloro12 ethylene exist with respect to susceptible popu13 lations, even at sites at which no current drinking 

14 water pathways of exposure are known to exist; and 

15 (C) in September 2002, the Office of Solid 

16 Waste and Emergency Response of the Environ17 mental Protection Agency released an external re18 view draft entitled ‘‘Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion 

19 to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils’’ 

20 that focuses specifically on those exposures; 

21 (6)(A) in 2006, the United States Geological 

22 Survey published a report entitled ‘‘Volatile Organic 

23 Compounds in the Nation’s Ground Water and 

24 Drinking-Water Supply Wells’’; 


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1 (B) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the 

2 long-term investigation by the national water-quality 

3 assessment program of the United States Geological 

4 Survey provides the most comprehensive national 

5 analysis of the occurrence of volatile organic com6 pounds in ground water, based on results of sam7 pling between 1985 and 2002; and 

8 (C) among the major findings developed under 

9 the program described in subparagraph (B) are— 

10 (i) that volatile organic compounds were 

11 detected in most aquifers throughout the 

12 United States and were not limited to few spe13 cific aquifers or regions; 

14 (ii) the most frequently detected volatile 

15 organic compounds are chloroform, the solvents 

16 perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene, and the 

17 gasoline oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether; 

18 (iii) 5 of the 29 regulated volatile organic 

19 compounds had 1 or more concentrations great20 er than applicable maximum contaminant levels 

21 that generally occurred in highly populated 

22 areas of the United States, including 1,1-DCE, 

23 methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, trichloro24 ethylene, and vinyl chloride; 


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1 (iv) the solvents perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene comprised approximately 3 2 ⁄4 of 

3 the concentrations of potential concern; 

4 (v) trichloroethylene was detected at levels 

5 ranging from 0.002 to over 110 micrograms per 

6 liter; and 

7 (vi) as of the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, the maximum contaminant level for tri9 chloroethylene is 5 micrograms per liter; and 

10 (7) the document of the Environmental Protec11 tion Agency entitled ‘‘Draft Trichloroethylene 

12 Health Risk Assessment: Synthesis and Character13 ization’’ and dated 2001— 

14 (A) stated that the Agency for Toxic Sub15 stances and Disease Registry— 

16 (i) reports that trichloroethylene is the 

17 most frequently reported organic contami18 nant in groundwater; and 

19 (ii) has estimated that between 9 and 

20 34 percent of drinking water supply 

21 sources have some trichloroethylene con22 tamination; and 

23 (B) recommended extrapolation to lower 

24 doses for oral exposure of trichloroethylene in 


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1 drinking water, resulting in a maximum con2 taminant level of 1 microgram per liter. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to require 

4 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen5 cy— 

6 (1) to establish, by not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act— 

8 (A) a health advisory for trichloroethylene 

9 in drinking water that fully protects susceptible 

10 populations (including pregnant women, in11 fants, and children), taking into consideration 

12 body weight, exposure patterns, and all routes 

13 of exposure to trichloroethylene; and 

14 (B) an integrated risk information system 

15 reference concentration of trichloroethylene that 

16 is protective of the susceptible populations iden17 tified in subparagraph (A) from vapor intru18 sion, taking into consideration the factors de19 scribed in that subparagraph; and 

20 (2) to promptly establish a national primary 

21 drinking water regulation for trichloroethylene that 

22 fully protects susceptible populations (including 

23 pregnant women, infants, and children), taking into 

24 consideration body weight, exposure patterns, and all 

25 routes of exposure to trichloroethylene. 


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1 TITLE I—HEALTH ADVISORY 

2 AND NATIONAL PRIMARY 

3 DRINKING WATER REGULA4 TION FOR TRICHLORO5 ETHYLENE 

6 SEC. 101. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY 

7 DRINKING WATER REGULATION FOR TRI8 CHLOROETHYLENE. 

9 Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) TRICHLOROETHYLENE.— 

13 ‘‘(i) HEALTH ADVISORY.—Notwith14 standing any other provision of this sec15 tion, not later than 180 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this subparagraph, the Ad17 ministrator shall publish a health advisory 

18 for trichloroethylene that fully protects, 

19 with an adequate margin of safety, the 

20 health of susceptible populations (including 

21 pregnant women, infants, and children), 

22 taking into consideration body weight, ex23 posure patterns, and all routes of exposure. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING

25 WATER REGULATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) PROPOSED REGULATION.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision 

3 of this section, not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of this 

5 subparagraph, the Administrator shall 

6 propose a national primary drinking 

7 water regulation for trichloro8 ethylene— 

9 ‘‘(aa) that is protective of 

10 susceptible populations (including 

11 pregnant women, infants, and 

12 children); and 

13 ‘‘(bb) the maximum con14 taminant level of which is as 

15 close to the maximum contami16 nant level goal for trichloro17 ethylene, and as protective of 

18 those susceptible populations, as 

19 is feasible. 

20 ‘‘(II) FINAL REGULATION.—Not21 withstanding any other provision of 

22 this section, not later than 18 months 

23 after the date of enactment of this 

24 subparagraph, after providing notice 

25 and an opportunity for public comVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:31 Sep 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.RS S1911

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1 ment, the Administrator shall promul2 gate a final national primary drinking 

3 water regulation (including a provi4 sion for monitoring under subclause 

5 (III)) for trichloroethylene that is con6 sistent with subclause (I). 

7 ‘‘(III) MONITORING REQUIRE8 MENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(aa) DEFINITION OF

10 QUALIFYING SYSTEM.—In this 

11 subclause, the term ‘qualifying 

12 system’ means a public water 

13 system that has been granted a 

14 monitoring waiver under section 

15 141.24 of volume 40, Code of 

16 Federal Regulations (or successor 

17 regulations). 

18 ‘‘(bb) REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 The regulation under subclause 

20 (II) shall include a provision re21 lating to monitoring that re22 quires— 

23 ‘‘(AA) that the Admin24 istrator shall revise moni25 toring requirements for all 


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1 systems to ensure detection 

2 of potential trichloroethylene 

3 contamination and full com4 pliance with the revised na5 tional primary drinking 

6 water regulation; 

7 ‘‘(BB) for each quali8 fying system located in the 

9 vicinity of a subsurface mi10 gration of a known volatile 

11 organic compound contami12 nation site, that the State 

13 with primary enforcement 

14 responsibility shall review 

15 and submit the waiver of the 

16 qualifying system for review 

17 by the Administrator; and 

18 ‘‘(CC) each qualifying 

19 system potentially located in 

20 the path of subsurface mi21 gration of a known volatile 

22 organic compound be subject 

23 to minimum regular moni24 toring for trichloroethylene, 

25 as the Administrator and 


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1 primary State officials deter2 mine to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(iii) CONSUMER CONFIDENCE RE4 PORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

6 subclause (II), simultaneously with 

7 the promulgation of the final regula8 tion under clause (ii)(II), each con9 sumer confidence report issued under 

10 section 1414(c)(4) shall disclose the 

11 presence of any trichloroethylene in 

12 drinking water, and the potential 

13 health risks to susceptible populations 

14 (including pregnant women, infants, 

15 and children) from exposure to tri16 chloroethylene in drinking water, con17 sistent with regulations promulgated 

18 by the Administrator. 

19 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—Notwith20 standing subclause (I), trichloro21 ethylene shall not be considered to be 

22 1 of the 3 regulated contaminants de23 scribed in the matter following clause 

24 (vi) of section 1414(c)(4)(B).’’. 


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1 TITLE II—REDUCING DAN2 GEROUS VAPOR INTRUSION 

3 FROM CONTAMINATED 

4 GROUNDWATER AND SOILS 

5 SEC. 201. HEALTH ADVISORY AND REFERENCE CON6 CENTRATION FOR TRICHLOROETHYLENE. 

7 (a) HEALTH ADVISORY.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

9 the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this 

10 section as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall publish a health ad11 visory for trichloroethylene that fully protects from vapor 

12 intrusion, with an adequate margin of safety, the health 

13 of susceptible populations (including pregnant women, in14 fants, and children), taking into consideration body 

15 weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of exposure. 

16 (b) ESTABLISHMENT AND APPLICATION OF REF17 ERENCE CONCENTRATION.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF REFERENCE CON19 CENTRATION.—Not later than 18 months after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

21 shall establish an integrated risk information system 

22 reference concentration of trichloroethylene vapor 

23 that is protective of susceptible populations (includ24 ing pregnant women, infants, and children), conVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:31 Sep 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.RS S1911

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1 sistent with the health advisory described in sub2 section (a). 

3 (2) REMEDIAL ACTION.—Not later than 2 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis5 trator shall apply the reference concentration estab6 lished under paragraph (1) with respect to any po7 tential vapor intrusion-related investigations or ac8 tions to protect public health with respect to tri9 chloroethylene exposure carried out pursuant to the 

10 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa11 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et 

12 seq.), the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f 

13 et seq.), or the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 6901 et seq.). 


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Calendar No. 1057 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1911 

[Report No. 110–486] 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect 

ethylene vapor intrusion, and for other purposes. ard, and reference concentration for trichloroquiring a health advisory, drinking water standpregnant women, infants, and children, by rethe health of susceptible populations, including 

SEPTEMBER 24 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Reported without amendment 


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