Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)
Trichloroacetic acid is one of the five haloacetic acids in HAA5 (group limit 60 ppb). Its EPA health goal (MCLG) is 0.02 mg/L.
EPA MCLG
0.02 mg/L
The level in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. This is a goal, not an enforceable limit.
Health Effects
Associated with an increased cancer risk in long-term studies; the EPA regulates five haloacetic acids together as HAA5. The risk is chronic and lifetime rather than acute.
Common Sources
- Byproduct of disinfecting drinking water with chlorine
- Formed when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter such as decaying leaves, runoff, and algae
Is your Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) result safe? Get a free reading
The EPA MCLG for Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) is 0.02 mg/L. Upload your water test (PDF or a photo) and we'll email a plain-English reading of where your result lands — and every other number — free. Educational only, no medical claims.
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Upload my testHow to Remove Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)
How do I get rid of Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) in drinking water?
For Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA), the verified treatment is activated carbon. Activated carbon is a conditional treatment. EPA's designated BAT is plant-scale: enhanced coagulation or softening plus GAC10, nanofiltration below 1000 Da, or GAC20. At point of use carbon adsorbs haloacetic acids but breaks through as the bed loads, and no certified product in our index claims HAA5 reduction — so no certified home removal can be asserted.
Source: EPA 40 CFR 141.64(b) — Stage 1 & 2 D/DBP Rule (HAA5 MCL 0.060 mg/L; BAT as quoted)
What filter certification covers Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)?
None. No NSF/ANSI standard certifies a filter for Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA), and no certified product in our index claims this reduction. That is a verified answer rather than a hole in our data — the same index does carry certified trihalomethane-reduction claims, so the search ran and came back empty for this one. A filter advertised as removing Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) is making a claim no certifier has listed.
Source: EPA 40 CFR 141.64(b) — Stage 1 & 2 D/DBP Rule (HAA5 MCL 0.060 mg/L; BAT as quoted)
Does a basic water filter pitcher remove Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)?
Only in principle, and no pitcher is certified to prove it. A basic pitcher is an activated-carbon device, and activated carbon is the indicated method for Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) — but no certified product in our index claims this reduction, so no pitcher has been tested against it. An NSF/ANSI 42 certification, which most pitchers carry, covers taste and odor and says nothing about Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA).
Source: EPA 40 CFR 141.64(b) — Stage 1 & 2 D/DBP Rule (HAA5 MCL 0.060 mg/L; BAT as quoted)
Does boiling water remove Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)?
Largely no, and this is where Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) differs from the trihalomethanes on the same water report. Haloacetic acids are non-volatile — an ingestion concern rather than a shower concern — so heating does not drive them off: in the 2024 comparison of boiling's effect on disinfection byproducts, trihalomethanes were markedly decreased while haloacetic acids were "reduced the least". Residual chlorine can make it worse rather than better: chlorine from 0.1 to 5.0 mg/L could increase haloacetic-acid levels, likely through reaction of organic matter with chlorine at elevated temperatures — chloroform down about 75%, dihaloacetic acids up 58–68% in the study that measured both directions at once. Boiling is not a treatment for Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA).
We name no filter for Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA), because no NSF/ANSI standard certifies one for it. There is nothing to link to here, and a link would be the wrong answer.
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Is Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) in your water?
Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) has been recorded above its health guideline in 176 cities, serving 10.0M people. Each system below was judged against a goal of 0.02 PPM.
Most affected systems, by population served
- New York, NY8,271,000 people served0.024 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Newark, NJ294,274 people served0.0203 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Springfield, MA169,071 people served0.034 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- South Connellsville, PA133,000 people served0.0224 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Connellsville, PA133,000 people served0.0224 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Everson, PA133,000 people served0.0224 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Dickson, TN63,382 people served0.0211 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- White Plains, NY59,559 people served0.024 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Chicopee, MA55,126 people served0.0211 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
- Valdosta, GA51,823 people served0.022 PPMgoal 0.02 PPM
and 166 more cities with a recorded result above the guideline
These are the largest systems that reported a result above the guideline — not the highest results. A city missing from this list has not been shown to be clean: it may have no Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) result on file at all. We publish a level only where a system reported one.
Check your city or ZIP code for Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA)
Part of a group: disinfection byproducts
This contaminant is rarely measured on its own. Disinfection byproducts in drinking water covers the whole group — what they are, which limits are enforceable, and where they come from.
Others in this group
About the EPA MCLG
The EPA MCLG is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. It is a non-enforceable public health goal, and is often stricter than the legal limit (MCL) water systems must meet.
Contaminant Type
Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) is classified as a Disinfection Byproducts contaminant.
Related Disinfection Byproducts Contaminants
Check Your Water
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