Are learning disabilities and mental retardation caused by exposure to TCE?
According to the ATSDR Toxicological Profile for TCE, learning disabilities and mental retardation have not been associated with chronic exposure to TCE in the drinking water. • Several former workers stated that they had contacted the Occupational Safety andHealth Administration (OSHA) on several occasions and wanted to know if thoseinvestigations were on file. Several former workers told stories of workers getting injured or killed in explosions, having severebreathing and eye problems from the chemical fumes in the plant, and dipping their arms in largeTCE vats to wash metal parts without the use of gloves or eye protection. According to somereports, safety precautions were not enforced or encouraged. There were descriptions of workerswho, after working with a toxic pink powder all day at work, would go home covered in the powderwhich would then get into the carpets, drapes, towels, clothes, and hair of their children and wouldnot wash out. Some former workers stated that they conta
