According to a study published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease by an international team of scientists (Ray et. al), a chemical commonly utilized in dry cleaning, metal degreasing and decaffeination of coffee has been identified as a possible factor contributing to Parkinson’s Disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TCE exposure can occur through “contaminated air, water, food, or soil or through direct skin contact”. Another common means of exposure if through jobs that involve the production or usage of the TCE chemical, usually degreasing industries, where fumes contaminated with TCE are inhaled or directly contact the skin. Furthermore, any consumption of TCE contaminated foods or consumer products containing TCE is another way to be exposed to TCE.

The National Institute of Health defines Parkinson’s Disease as “a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination”. This disease affects the substania nigra of the brain, a region that produces dopamine, thus the following symptoms of shaking stiffness and imbalance are commonly exhibited in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

The report hypothesized how usage of TCE was correlated with increasing cases of Parkinson’s disease. Due to TCE’s lipophilic nature (easily dissolvable in fatty tissues), the chemical can easily travel through the brain to other bodily tissues, eventually disrupting mitochondrial function. Additionally, patients are more susceptible to Parkinson’s due to the high sensitivity of dopamine-producing cells to the TCE chemical.

According to ER Dorsey, “at one point, 10 million Americans (printers, embalmers, mechanics, dry cleaners, chip manufacturers, engineers, painters, metal workers, pilots and more) worked with it. Millions more have been exposed to it in the environment… Likely millions of us are living, working, or studying on top of TCE-contaminated groundwater (e.g., from Long Island to Newport Beach) from which TCE can evaporate and enter our homes, workplaces, and schools”.

There are numerous steps needed to be taken into action to prevent future TCE exposure, including the prohibition of the industrial solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE), provision of recovery/protection services for already exposed victims and additional investment into research for studying the correlation between TCE and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, since TCE is a prevalent solvent in many consumer products like adhesives, lubricants, paints, varnishes, paint strippers, pesticides and cold metal cleaners (CDC), stricter regulations on including TCE in ingredient labeling on such products will be necessary.

For people already exposed to TCE, medical examinations are available for screening of TCE in blood, breath, urine or the air of the environment in which the contamination occurred. After exposure, however, there unfortunately currently is no treatment available to remove the toxin from one’s body, unless excreted through exhaling or urine. Therefore, the best protective measure would be to prevent any means of contamination before getting exposed to the chemical.

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Works Cited:

Schimelpfening, Nancy. “Parkinson’s Disease May Be Caused by Common Dry-Cleaning Chemical.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 16 Mar. 2023, http://www.healthline.com/health-news/parkinsons-disease-may-be-caused-by-common-dry-cleaning-chemical. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

Dorsey, E. Ray, et al. “Trichloroethylene: An Invisible Cause of Parkinson’s Disease?” Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, vol. 13, no. 2, Mar. 2023, pp. 203–18, https://doi.org/10.3233/jpd-225047. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

Leitch, Carmen. “Is This Common Dry Cleaning Chemical Causing Parkinson’s Disease?” Labroots, Labroots, 18 Mar. 2023, http://www.labroots.com/trending/clinical-and-molecular-dx/24909/common-dry-cleaning-chemical-causing-parkinson-s-disease. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

https://www.facebook.com/NIHAging. “Parkinson’s Disease: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments.” National Institute on Aging, 2022, http://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease#:~:text=Parkinson’s%20disease%20is%20a%20brain,difficulty%20with%20balance%20and%20coordination. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

Hello everyone! It has been a very long time since my last post; I apologize for the sudden, long period of inactivity. A lot of events occurred during the past few months, so I was busy catching up with them that I was not able to be so active on my blog. Some great news — I’ve accepted an offer to my dream university! I’ll still be active on this blog during university and afterwards too, so stay updated 🙂

– Joanna Kim, March 19th, 2023, 1:00PM KST –