SA residents stay put despite toxic scare

Residents in four homes in Adelaide have declined an offer of alternative accommodation because of a toxic chemical contamination.

Trichloroethene, or TCE, was first found in groundwater and soil samples in the Beverley area earlier this year.

Further testing has limited concerns to fewer than 35 properties and the Environment Protection Authority says residents of four homes had been offered alternative accommodation but had decided against moving.

EPA spokesman Peter Dolan said the tests had shown that it was possible for there to be elevated concentrations of TCE within the properties.

"We have discussed these preliminary results with health experts and have offered temporary relocation for these residents as a precaution while any health risks are better understood through further testing," Mr Dolan said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The residents of all four properties are satisfied with the progress of the environmental tests and have declined an offer of temporary accommodation while this work continues."

TCE is a solvent that can cause nausea, headaches and dizziness with high exposure affecting the respiratory and central nervous systems.

It's thought to have been widely used in the Beverley area by numerous factories, service stations and workshops, many of which have since closed down.