Public data show chemicals in US tap water (AP) Updated: 2005-12-21 08:45
Drinking water in the United States may have a lot more in it than just H20
and fluoride, according to an environmental group's analysis of records in 42
states.
A survey by the US Environmental Working Group released on Tuesday found 141
unregulated chemicals and an additional 119 for which the Environmental
Protection Agency has set health-based limits. Most common among the chemicals
found were disinfection byproducts, nitrates, chloroform, barium, arsenic and
copper.
The research-and-advocacy organization compiled findings from the states that
agreed to provide data they collected from 1998 to 2003. That data comes from
nearly 40,000 water utilities, serving 231 million people. The utilities were
required by federal law to report that data to consumers.
For the unregulated chemicals, EPA is still identifying and considering the
potential risks for possible future regulations. Nineteen of those chemicals
exceeded EPA's unenforced safety guidelines for tap water systems serving at
least 10,000 people, according to the advocacy group.
The EPA gathers its own water monitoring data, reviews the latest research
and looks at treatment methods and technology, an agency spokeswoman said.
States also are free to set their own safety standards for contaminants that may
not be detected in other states.
Benjamin Grumbles, who heads EPA's Office of Water, said that "for the
chemicals the agency regulates, nearly 100 percent of the community water
systems that provide drinking water to the majority of Americans are meeting
clean drinking water standards. We also have a process to continuously identify
new contaminants for which regulation could reduce risks."
Jane Houlihan, EWG's vice president for research, said the group's findings
show that the United States allows millions of people to be exposed to some
chemicals for which EPA either has never considered the risks or if it has, has
no enforceable limits.
"So in many communities the water that comes out of the tap could be
contaminated with scores of chemicals. People shouldn't be alarmed, but they
should be concerned. Our system of public health protections isn't working in
this case," Houlihan said.
The top 10 states, listed in order of the most contaminants in their drinking
water, were: California, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New
York, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Illinois, according to EWG, which listed the
biggest sources as agriculture, industry and urban and sprawl developments.
Tom Curtis, a deputy director of the Denver-based American Water Works
Association, echoed Grumbles' comments. "That's good news, and it's a reflection
of water professionals' ongoing commitment to protecting public health," he
said.
Curtis said the EPA has "a systematic approach to determining which
substances should be regulated. Those regulations take into account occurrence
data and health effects research, and should reflect the best available
science."
He also said that "water suppliers support strong regulations that protect
public health, and they also support proactive research that identifies and
examines new substances found in source waters."
Last week, in setting two new rules to protect public drinking water, EPA
Administrator Stephen Johnson called clean drinking water "a key ingredient to
keeping people healthy and our economy strong." One rule aims to prevent
disease-causing microorganisms from entering public water supplies, while the
other is intended to limit the amount of potentially harmful disinfection
byproducts.
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