Household Chemical Implicated in Rise in Parkinson’s Disease

The incidence of Parkinson’s disease is surging at an alarming rate, according to Dr. Ray Dorsey, a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center and author of Ending Parkinson’s Disease. Researchers believe a major contributing cause to this increase is trichloroethylene (TCE), a chemical used in US dry cleaning and household products such as shoe polishes and carpet cleaners. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 250 million pounds of TCE are used annually in the US.

Dr. Dorsey says that Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world, with a 35% increase in the US over the last 10 years alone. Researchers anticipate that those numbers will double in the next 25 years. A 2008 peer-reviewed study in the Annals of Neurology found that TCE is “a risk factor for parkinsonism.” A 2011 study had similar results, finding “a six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson’s in individuals exposed in the workplace to trichloroethylene (TCE).”

Exposure to TCE, a carcinogen, has been linked to renal cell carcinoma, cancers of the cervix, liver, biliary passages, lymphatic system, male breast tissue, and fetal cardiac defects. Although banned or heavily regulated in many countries, the EPA has determined that it’s safe for TCE to be present in drinking water at a concentration of up to five parts per billion. It is thought to be in about 30% of US groundwater.

Although using activated carbon water filtration devices can help reduce TCE in drinking water, bathing in water containing toxic groundwater and inhaling the vapors is more difficult to avoid. Researchers say government intervention is crucial when it comes to testing, monitoring, and remediating TCE-contaminated sites. They add that it’s important to raise awareness about the role of exposure to TCE in the surging rates of Parkinson’s.