VOC
2987Tetrachloroethylene
The health basis on which the EPA sets this contaminant's legal limit. Reported verbatim from the regulatory record — it is not a diagnosis or a prediction about any individual.
Liver problems and increased cancer risk; dry-cleaning and industrial solvent (MCLG = 0).
- Maximum contaminant level
- 5 µg/LLegal MCLEnforceable federal limit
- Health goal
- 0.0 µg/LHealth goal (MCLG)No safe exposure level
- Category
- VOCCategory
- Reporting unit
- µg/LReporting unit
Regulatory basis
How Tetrachloroethylene is regulated
What the enforceable limit actually obliges a utility to do, and how it differs from the health-based goal it is measured against.
Two different numbers govern Tetrachloroethylene, and they are not interchangeable. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is 5 µg/L — the enforceable ceiling. A system reporting above it is in violation and owes its customers notification and corrective action. The health goal (MCLG) is 0 and is not enforceable.
The health goal is zero. EPA sets a goal of zero when it has not identified a level at which the contaminant is known or expected to be free of the effects the standard was written to address. Zero is not attainable as an enforceable standard with available treatment technology and cost, so the MCL was set at 5 µg/L instead — the level EPA judged feasible. The practical consequence: a utility can report Tetrachloroethylene anywhere between zero and 5 µg/L and be fully compliant while still sitting above the health goal. “No violation” and “at the goal” are different statements about the same water.
Results are reported in µg/L. A laboratory result and the limits above are only comparable when both are expressed in that same unit — a value in a different unit will be off by orders of magnitude. WaterQualityLens groups Tetrachloroethylene under VOC for navigation; the grouping is ours, the limits are the regulator’s.
The record for Tetrachloroethylene
- Enforceable limit (MCL)
- 5 µg/L
- Health goal (MCLG)
- 0
- Reporting unit
- µg/L
- Category
- VOC
- Contaminant code
- 2987
Limits as published by EPA and state primacy agencies. This page reports regulatory and certification records; it does not assess anyone’s exposure and makes no health prediction.
Certification scope
Which certifications actually remove Tetrachloroethylene
Only NSF/ANSI 53, 58 and 401 are health-contaminant standards. A product certified only to Standard 42 (aesthetics) or 372 (lead-free materials) has not been verified to reduce Tetrachloroethylene, however the box is worded.
NSF/ANSI 53
Counts — health standardHealth effects: lead, VOCs, cysts, chromium, and (post-P473) PFAS reduction.
No filter in our registry holds a verified NSF/ANSI 53 claim for Tetrachloroethylene. That means we hold no certification record — not that the standard could never cover it.
NSF/ANSI 58
Counts — health standardReverse osmosis: dissolved inorganics, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and total PFAS.
No filter in our registry holds a verified NSF/ANSI 58 claim for Tetrachloroethylene. That means we hold no certification record — not that the standard could never cover it.
NSF/ANSI 401
Counts — health standardEmerging/incidental compounds: pharmaceuticals and select trace contaminants.
1 filter in our registry holds an independently verified NSF/ANSI 401 claim for Tetrachloroethylene, listed below.
NSF/ANSI 42
Does not count — not a health standardAesthetic effects: chlorine, taste, odor, particulates. No health-contaminant protection.
No registry product lists Tetrachloroethylene under NSF/ANSI 42. It would not count as verification of Tetrachloroethylene reduction in any case.
NSF/ANSI 372
Does not count — not a health standardLead-free materials (manufacturing content only). Not a water-treatment claim.
No registry product lists Tetrachloroethylene under NSF/ANSI 372. It would not count as verification of Tetrachloroethylene reduction in any case.
Counts are of active products in the WaterQualityLens filter registry holding a verified claim for contaminant code 2987 under that standard, as recorded by the certifying body (NSF, WQA, or IAPMO). Certification is granted per contaminant, not per product: a filter certified to Standard 53 for one contaminant is not thereby certified for Tetrachloroethylene.
Certified reduction · commercial placements
Filters verified to reduce Tetrachloroethylene
These filters hold an independent NSF/ANSI health certification (Standard 53, 58, or 401) specifically for Tetrachloroethylene. Certification against a health standard means an accredited lab verified the filter reduces this contaminant — a materials-only claim such as NSF 42 or 372 does not.
- Verified PartnerEpic Water
Pure Filter Pitcher
EP-PURE10Pitcher$69.95NSF/ANSI 401Certified by WQA
Hardware links are affiliate placements marked “Verified Partner.” Products appear here solely because they hold an independently verified NSF/ANSI health certification for Tetrachloroethylene; commercial arrangements never affect this list.