Philadelphia families have lived for decades with TCE

May 5, 2008 - The neighborhood looks harmless enough, with well-maintained homes and dozens of tall, sturdy trees that have grown up right along with it.

The danger here lies in what cannot be seen. It’s about 200 feet underground and has festered there since the time this cluster of homes in Perkasie, along Cedar View Avenue and Evergreen Lane, a cul-de-sac that spills into Cedar View, was constructed in the mid-1970s.

Even if it were above ground, out in the open, the danger would be difficult to recognize. It would look like water, colorless, but with a slightly sweet odor and a sweet, but burning taste. A potentially deadly taste, because drinking it or even breathing it could cause nervous system effects, liver and lung damage, abnormal heartbeat, coma and possibly death.

It is trichloroethylene, or TCE.

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