(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
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. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) trichloroethylene is a metal degreaser and 
an ingredient in adhesives and paint removers; 
(2)(A) waste from the use and improper dis-
posal of chemicals containing trichloroethylene is 
widespread in soil and water; 
(B) more than 1,000 waste sites in the United 
States are contaminated with trichloroethylene; 
(C) it is well documented that individuals in 
many communities are exposed to trichloroethylene 
and experience associated health risks; 
(D) certain human subpopulations might be at 
increased risk to trichloroethylene exposure because 
of age, genetic polymorphisms, or preexisting dis-
eases; and 
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(E) in utero exposure to trichloroethylene has 
been associated with birth defects and childhood dis-
eases, including cancer; 
(3) according to the report of the National 
Academy of Sciences entitled ‘‘Assessing the Human 
Health Risks of Trichloroethylene: Key Scientific 
Issues’’— 
(A) acute exposures to trichloroethylene oc-
curring as a result of occupational industrial 
accidents are associated with nerve damage and 
residual neurological deficits, including memory 
loss; 
(B) high-concentration exposure to air con-
taminated with trichloroethylene— 
(i) causes nervous system damage; 
(ii) has been associated with general-
ized skin eruptions and other more severe 
skin and mucus membrane conditions, such 
as Stevens-Johnson syndrome; and 
(iii) can cause liver dysfunction, lead-
ing to jaundice, hepatomegaly, and hepatic 
encephalopathy; 
(C) trichloroethylene in drinking water can 
alter the therapeutic action of medications, in-
cluding anticoagulants and barbiturates; 
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(D) evidence regarding carcinogenic risk 
and other health hazards from exposure to tri-
chloroethylene has strengthened since 2001, 
and there is strong evidence that exposure to 
trichloroethylene in a dose-dependent manner is 
associated in humans with increased rates of— 
(i) kidney cancer; and 
(ii) leukemia; 
(E) exposure to mixtures of volatile or-
ganic compound contaminants in groundwater, 
in combination with trichloroethylene, can accel-
erate tumor growth in humans; and 
(F) evidence from animal-related and epi-
demiological studies suggests that several repro-
ductive and developmental toxicity end-points 
may be associated with trichloroethylene expo-
sure, including— 
(i) infertility in males and females; 
(ii) impaired intrauterine growth and 
development; and 
(iii) cardiac teratogenesis; 
(4) the report referred to in paragraph (3) rec-
ommended the use of currently available data to fi-
nalize a risk assessment to ensure that risk manage-
ment decisions can be made expeditiously; 
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(5)(A) exposures to volatile organic compound 
vapors from migration to indoor air have become a 
concern at sites throughout the United States, in-
cluding many Superfund sites under the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); 
(B) potential routes of exposure to trichloro-
ethylene exist with respect to susceptible popu-
lations, even at sites at which no current drinking 
water pathways of exposure are known to exist; and 
(C) in September 2002, the Office of Solid 
Waste and Emergency Response of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency released an external re-
view draft entitled ‘‘Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion 
to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils’’ 
that focuses specifically on those exposures; 
(6)(A) in 2006, the United States Geological 
Survey published a report entitled ‘‘Volatile Organic 
Compounds in the Nation’s Ground Water and 
Drinking-Water Supply Wells’’; 
(B) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the 
long-term investigation by the national water-quality 
assessment program of the United States Geological 
Survey provides the most comprehensive national 
analysis of the occurrence of volatile organic com-
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pounds in ground water, based on results of sam-
pling between 1985 and 2002; and 
(C) among the major findings developed under 
the program described in subparagraph (B) are— 
(i) that volatile organic compounds were 
detected in most aquifers throughout the 
United States and were not limited to few spe-
cific aquifers or regions; 
(ii) the most frequently detected volatile 
organic compounds are chloroform, the solvents 
perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene, and the 
gasoline oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether; 
(iii) 5 of the 29 regulated volatile organic 
compounds had 1 or more concentrations great-
er than applicable maximum contaminant levels 
that generally occurred in highly populated 
areas of the United States, including 1,1-DCE, 
methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, trichloro-
ethylene, and vinyl chloride; 
(iv) the solvents perchloroethylene and tri-
chloroethylene comprised approximately 3⁄4 of 
the concentrations of potential concern; 
(v) trichloroethylene was detected at levels 
ranging from 0.002 to over 110 micrograms per 
liter; and 
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