Thursday
April 12, 2007
EPA Issues Determination on
11 Contaminants
Source: US Environmental Protection Agency
Two other contaminants – perchlorate and MTBE – require additional investigation to ascertain total human exposure and health risks. For those contaminants, EPA is providing a summary of current health, occurrence, and exposure information. The agency is seeking comment and additional information to help EPA's evaluations.
A regulatory determination is a formal decision on whether EPA should develop a national primary drinking water regulation for a specific contaminant. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires that EPA issue a CCL every five years for at least five contaminants from the most recent CCL. In 2005, the agency published the second CCL of 51 contaminants.
The 11 contaminants include naturally occurring substances, pesticides, herbicides and chemicals used (or once used) in manufacturing. EPA monitored eight of the contaminants during the first round of the unregulated contaminant monitoring program and the remaining three during previous occurrence surveys. While none of the contaminants were found nationally at levels of public health concern, EPA is recommending that health advisories for seven of the contaminants be updated to provide local officials with current health information for situations where the contaminants may occur.
EPA will take comments for 60 days following publication of a notice in the Federal Register.
The 11 contaminants are:
* Boron - a naturally occurring
metal-like element used in industrial production
* Dacthal mono- and
* Di-acid degradates – herbicides that should not be directly applied or
discharged to surface waters
* 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE) – a degradate of
the pesticide DDT, which was banned in 1973
* 1,3-dichloropropene (Telone) – a soil fumigant used to control
nematodes which has labeling requirements to protect sources of drinking
water
* 2,4-dinitrotoluene, and
* 2,6-dinitrotoluene – chemicals found in ammunition, explosives, dyes,
polyurethane foams and automobile air bags
* s-ethyl propyl thiocarbamate (EPTC) – an herbicide used on various
food crops
* Fonofos – a soil insecticide which was discontinued by the
manufacturer in 1999
* Terbacil – an herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds
* 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane – a volatile organic chemical once used for
a variety of industrial uses
Learn more about the contaminant candidate list: www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/reg_determine2.html
Contact:
(Media only) Dale Kemery, (202)
564-4355 / kemery.dale@epa.gov
(Other inquiries) Eric Burneson, (202) 564-5250 / burneson.eric@epa.gov