Solvents (benzene, TCE, PCE)
ContaminantIARC Group 1Industrial degreasers and cleaning solvents — TCE, PCE, and benzene — common in maintenance and contaminated water.
Where it comes from in service
Motor pools, flight lines, parts cleaning, and contaminated base water supplies — most documented at Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River, North Carolina, where trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzene, and vinyl chloride reached the drinking water supply between August 1953 and December 1987.
How it harms the body
Solvents are absorbed through the lungs and skin and travel everywhere the blood goes. Benzene injures the bone marrow; TCE, PCE, and vinyl chloride affect the nervous system, kidneys, liver, and immune system, and vinyl chloride is a recognized liver carcinogen in its own right.
How long it stays in you
Volatile components clear over days, but the marrow, nerve, and organ injury from sustained exposure can be lasting.
Where it goes — tap an organ to go deeper
38 CFR §3.309(f) lists eight presumptive diseases for Camp Lejeune / MCAS New River service of 30+ days between Aug 1953 and Dec 1987: adult leukemia, aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Parkinson's disease. ATSDR documents the underlying solvent associations.
Blood, kidney, liver, and neurological conditions can develop years later; an exposure record matters for both care and a claim.
What to ask your clinician about
- •CBC for blood/marrow effects
- •Kidney and liver panels
- •Neurological evaluation if symptomatic
Bring this to your clinician and your VSO — they decide what testing and care, if any, is right for you. For general, whole-person ways to support your body, see Whole health.
Sources: 38 CFR 3.309(f) (VA presumptive list) · ATSDR ToxFAQs: Trichloroethylene / Benzene · IARC Group 1. Drafted from the government's and science's own record — VA presumptive lists (PACT Act, 38 CFR, Camp Lejeune), ATSDR ToxFAQs, IARC, and NTP. Sources are cited on every page, and this library has not yet been reviewed by a named clinician or toxicologist. This is documentation to bring to your clinician and VSO — not a diagnosis, a treatment plan, or a determination of service connection. Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1.