Could past exposures to contaminated groundwater cause heart defects or chronic diarrhea in my daughter?
Based on the information reviewed by ATSDR, it is not likely that diarrhea or heart defects couldresult from past exposures to contaminated groundwater. Short-term exposures to trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,2-DCA at high concentrations have beenassociated with irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias). For example, the use of TCE as ananesthetic (i.e., concentrated TCE) has been linked with cardiac arrhythmias. However, based onthe data provided to ATSDR, the concentrations of VOCs detected in the wells around Tinker aremuch lower and exposure is not expected to cause cardiac arrhythmias. Although fetuses in the first three months of pregnancy may be especially sensitive to TCE, theconcentrations of TCE detected at Tinker (5.2-13.8 ppb) are much less than the concentrationsassociated with birth defects. Epidemiologic studies have found an association between pregnantwomen’s chronic exposure to TCE-contaminated drinking water and congenital heart defects intheir children.83 However, th
