[The tetrachloroethylene burden of residents adjacent to chemical dry cleaning establishments].

The paper describes the concentration of tetrachlorethen (TCE) in the air of flats in Bremen adjacent to drycleaners and the resulting TCE concentration in the food and blood of the residents. The results indicate that--regardless of the cleaning system--a high TCE pollution must be expected with nearly everybody living next to a TCE dry cleaning shop. The currently propagated guiding value of 0.1 mg TCE per m3 of air or 0.1 mg TCE per kg of food can hardly be complied with--even after reorganisation in the drycleaning shop. The problem of guiding and limit values of TCE and possible alternatives to dry cleaning with TCE are discussed. The paper shows that Public Health Offices--in cooperation with other institutions--can make relevant contributions to investigations in the field of environmental health.