EPA Banned Chemical Linked to Cancer, Parkinson’s and Fatal Heart Defects in Babies — Now Industry Is Lobbying to Repeal It

By Sharon Lerner and Lisa Song

Although it was too late for him to benefit, Daniel Kinel felt relieved in December 2024 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally banned trichloroethylene (TCE).

The compound, which has been used for dry cleaning, manufacturing and degreasing machines, can cause cancer, organ damage and a potentially fatal heart defect in babies, according to independent studies and the EPA. It has also been shown to greatly increase people’s chances of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Kinel and three of his colleagues were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. They all worked in a law office in Rochester, New York, that sat next to a dry cleaner that had dumped TCE into the soil.

Kinel was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative condition at age 43, after working there for seven years. His three colleagues have since died. At least 15 of the firm’s partners developed cancers related to TCE.