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Chemistry of Crestwood's Contamination 

      The Playfield Cleaners in Crestwood used PCE and improperly disposed of the chemical during the 1980s. Perchloroethylene (PCE) is a nonflammable, colorless liquid used as a chemical solvent and degreaser. It was used in the dry-cleaning industry before the EPA began phase-out efforts. Long-term exposure to low levels of PCE can cause changes in mood, memory, attention, reaction time, and vision; the EPA considers PCE carcinogenic to humans.   

           PCE in the soil seeped through fractured bedrock and entered the aquifer providing water for Community Well #1 in Crestwood. Once underground in an oxygen-free environment, PCE breaks down slowly through the process of reductive dechlorination. Through this process, microorganisms remove chlorine atoms and replace them with hydrogen, producing simpler chemicals.  This would explain why there were different contaminants present in Community Well #1 despite PCE being the only pollutant leeching into the groundwater.   

PCE first breaks down into trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE is a known carcinogen connected to kidney cancer, liver cancer, and lymphoma. 

DCE breaks down into vinyl chloride. The lowest levels of vinyl chloride that produce nerve damage, liver changes, or changes in immunity are not known. Some studies have found an association between vinyl chloride and birth defects.  Vinyl chloride is a carcinogen connected to the rare form of liver cancer, angiosarcoma. There is no safe level of exposure to vinyl chloride.

PCE Degradation pathway (1).jpg

TCE then breaks down into dichloroethylene (DCE). There are three different variations: 1,1-DCE; cis-1,2-DCE; and trans-1,2 DCE. There is suggestive evidence 1,1-DCE is a carcinogen, but not enough human studies have been done to categorize it. The EPA has classified 1,2-DCE as a probable human carcinogen 

Since the breakdown of PCE into these products was unmonitored, Crestwood residents will never know exactly their level of exposure and how these contaminants affected their health.    

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