Scrutinizing three trichloroethylene carcinogenicity classifications in the European Union--implications for the risk assessment process.

In this paper, carcinogenicity classifications of the chlorinated solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) made by the European Union Commission Expert Groups in 1976, 1988, and 2001 are scrutinized and alternative classifications are proposed. It is argued that the TCE database at these three points in time could have been interpreted to fulfill the criteria for stricter classifications than those actually made. Implications of this for the classification process are discussed.