Trichloroethylene: An Invisible Cause of Parkinson's Disease?

> TCE is a simple, six-atom molecule that can decaffeinate coffee, degrease metal parts, and dry clean clothes

Note that TCE hasn't been widely used to decaffeinate coffee since the seventies.

The main industrial decaffeination process currently uses methylene chloride (think supermarket or instant decaf, also decaf from big chains like Starbucks). I personally avoid decaf processed this way but I very much doubt it'll ever be strongly linked to negative outcomes like Parkinson's.

Small batch (higher quality) decaf will use the Sugarcane EA process (uses ethyl acetate from fermented sugarcane), or the Swiss water process (uses only distilled water), or the supercritical C02 process.

Of these, I favor the sugarcane EA process. As it uses less expensive equipment, it is often be done at or close to source (e.g. a local processing plant in Brazil or Columbia or even at larger farms) and perhaps because of this seems to lock in the flavor better. Swiss water and C02 processes typically involve shipping the green beans to a processing plant in the US or Europe, which adds shipping miles and takes a big chunk of the value capture out of the originating countries. Ethyl acetate is a common chemical in fruit and the amounts left in decaf coffee after processing are less than what you'd consume eating a banana, for example.

I got an eyeful of this when I was an apprentice machinist. Boy, let me tell you, that stung.

Not looking forward to the Parkinsons much.

I'm terrified of all chlorinated solvents after meeting someone with a horror story.

I very rarely will use shoe goo or E6000 since there's no replacement, but I'll use ventilation, hold my breath, and run as soon as I can.

IIUC, there have only been (few) case studies on this, and this paper reads like a plea for larger studies.

But they also think TCE should be banned right away for other reasons:

> In many ways, the long-established health risks of TCE dwarf its relationship with PD. TCE causes cancer, increases the risk of miscarriages, contributes to birth defects, and is associated with diseases in nearly every organ system. The chemical is over a century old. We do not fly airplanes from the days of the Wright brothers or drive cars from Henry Ford’s era; engineers have developed safer ones. Chemists can do the same for solvents. Some companies now advertise safer alternatives to TCE [83]. They are needed as the use of TCE continues to rise globally.

PERC and TCE are the staple of brake cleaners old guard is crying about losing right now. Almost every car mechanic YT channel will have a video where the guy tells you about his stash of the "good stuff" because they dont make em like they used to.