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                   Prepared By:

 Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
            1911 North Fort Myer Drive
            Arlington, Virginia  22209
         Under Grant # X-8 J4294-01 From:

         Environmental Protection Agency
             Office of Drinking Water
                401 M Street, SW
             Washington, DC 20460
                Copyright © 1990
                       by
Association of State Drinking Water Administrators

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                   Over the past two decades, several advances
                have been made in the ability to detect and measure
                organic chemicals present at very low concentra-
                tions in air, soil, and water. This, together with
                advances in understanding of chemical toxicology,
              has led to an increased awareness of the health
              consequences of human exposure to organic chemi-
              cals. In particular, the potential cancer causing
              effects from long-term exposure to certain organic
              chemicals have received a high degree of attention
              because of the assumption that there is no threshold
              limit below which a cancer-causing substance does not
              pose some risk, however small.
Types of Contaminants, Sources, and Health Effects
Pesticides
and
herbicides
    INSECTS
...are used in a wide variety of agricultural and
industrial products. Drinking water may become
contaminated with pesticides and herbicides
          through agricultural runoff, leaching of
            organics through the soil, accidental
             spills, and incorrect disposal. In
             general, health effects associated
             with these contaminants include
             liver, kidney, and nervous system
           . effects and several may be
           carcinogenic.
WEEDS
Pdychforinofed
biphenyls
...are stable materials of low flammability, which
contain from 12 to 68 percent chlorine. PCBs are
generally found in electrical transformers and
capacitors as well as fluids in vacuum pumps and
compressors although their use in new products
has now been banned.  They are very stable in the
environment and as a class of chemicals have
been found to be carcinogenic.

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Introduction
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                  Organic chemicals generally fall into four main
                  categories: pesticides and herbicides (often called
                  synthetic organic chemicals), disinfection by-
              products, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and
                industrial/commercial organics (often called vola-
                 tile organic chemicals).

                   Consumers are exposed to organic chemicals
              through food, air, water, and home usage of pesticides
              and herbicides. Since the 1970s, these organic
              compounds have been increasingly detected in drink-
              ing water supplies.

                   Organic chemicals can contaminate drinking
              water in a number of ways. Some industries may
              dispose of organic wastes through such practices as
              land dumping or the disposal of untreated industrial
              waste into septic systems, storm drains, sewer pipes,
              or natural bodies of water. Although storm drains
              and sewer pipes lead to municipal wastewater treat-
              ment facilities, many municipal plants have only
              limited ability to remove organic chemicals.
    Household wastewater may also •
contribute up to 12% of drinking water
contamination since cleaners, deter-
gents, and drain openers are commonly
washed down household drains into
septic systems and sewers. Pesticides
used in agriculture, lawn care, and
home pest control may permeate soils
and enter groundwater aquifers or be
carried through runoff to aquifer
recharge areas or surface waters. In .
addition, organic contaminants may be
formed as by-products of the disinfec-
tion process used in water treatment.

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Industrial/
commetcid
organics
 ...are organic chemicals used as degreasing
 agents, varnishes, paint thinners, and pesticides.
 A number of these organic chemicals are common
 in cleaning agents, moth balls, air deodorizers,
 perfumes, paints, and dyes. Laboratory data
 suggest that these chemicals are more likely to be
 persistent in groundwater supplies since the cool,
 dark, low-bacteria environment of groundwater
 does not promote the decomposition or evapora-
 tion of these organic chemicals. Consequently,
 once they are present in groundwater, they tend
 to persist for a long time until proper treatment
 for their removal is applied.

    In general, health effects associated with in-
 dustrial and commercial organic chemicals include
 liver, kidney, and nervous system effects. Many of
 these chemicals are also considered possible
 carcinogens.
Disinfection
by-products
     Chlorine
...are a special class of organic contaminants
produced as by-products of chlorination and
disinfection in the water treatment process. The
formation of these contaminants is more often
associated with surface water treatment plants
due to high levels of organics found in surface
water.  These organics combine with chlorine and
other disinfectants,  thereby producing by-products
which may be present in drinking water.

   One of the most common by-products of chlori-
nation is a trihalomethane compound known as
chloroform. Chloroform as well as other disinfec-
tion by-products are potentially carcinogenic.

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Treatment Techniques
   GAC  +
       BAT
      The EPA currently recognizes granular activated
      carbon (GAC) and packed tower aeration (PTA)
      as the best available technologies (BAT) for the
removal of organic contaminants from drinking water.
GAC is recommended for removal of pesticides and
       herbicides while PTA is generally used for
       removal of industrial/commercial organics.
       Disinfection by-products may be reduced by
       changing the point of chlorination at the
       treatment plant and utilizing a variety of
       chemicals to reduce organic matter in the
       water prior to disinfection. Alternative
actions such as reconstructing wells in deeper, uncon-
taminated aquifers, and drilling new wells in an
uncontaminated area may also solve contamination
problems. These actions do not, however, specifically
address the source of contamination. Utilities with
organic chemical contamination problems will be
required to install BAT for removal of organics in the
future.
Regulation of Organic Contaminants
                   Organic contaminants are regulated under a
                   number of Federal environmental laws includ-
                   ing the Clean Water Act, the Federal Insecti-
             cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and the Re-
             source Conservation and Recovery Act. While these
             statutes control the release of organics into the
             environment, organic contaminants in public drinking
             water (supplies serving more than 25 people or 15
             service connections) are regulated under the Safe •
             Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

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     Under the SDWA, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is given authority to develop
a national drinking water protection program and
establish national standards (acceptable or "safe"
levels) for known or suspected drinking water con-
taminants. Currently, the SDWA regulates six
pesticides and herbicides, eight industrial/commercial
organics, and four disinfection by-products. Monitor-
ing requirements are also in effect for 51 other indus-
trial/commercial organics. SDWA regulations which
have recently been proposed will require the regula-
tion of an additional 26 organic chemicals and estab-
lish monitoring requirements for nearly 100 others.

     Public water supplies fall under three major
categories:  community water supplies which serve
the same population on a year round basis (e.g., cities,
villages, mobile home parks), non-transient non-
community systems which supply water to the same
individuals at least six months of the year (e. g., day-
care centers, schools, factories), and non-community
    systems which serve transient populations (e. g.,
    campgrounds, highway rest areas).
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     Public water supplies are required to sample and
analyze for drinking water contaminants on a regular
basis based on the public water supply classification
(e.g., community) and the source of drinking water
(i.e., surface water or groundwater).

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                     Public water supplies are required by law to
              notify the public of any monitoring failure or when
                   any drinking water standard has been exceeded.
                   This notification may be made by newspaper,
                   radio or TV, hand-delivered notice to all resi-
                   dents, mailing in monthly or quarterly utility
              bills, or by posting in specified locations.  The method
              of public notification is dependent on the type and
              severity of the violation and type of public water
              supply.

                     The federal government and the states are
              also authorized to initiate enforcement action against
              public water supplies which violate requirements of
              the SDWA.  The primary goal of enforcement is to
              achieve compliance with the SDWA and to ensure
              future compliance.
Facts the Consumer Should Know
              None of the organic contaminants found in drinking
              water are pervasive.  Whether they are in your water
               depends on the geographic location, the'source of the
               water, the treatment it receives, and the effective-
               ness of the treatment.

              Health risks are dependent on a number of factors
              including the nature of the contaminant, the level of
              the contaminant in drinking water, the susceptibility
              of the person consuming the water, and the period
              (i.e., days, months, years) over which a person drinks
               water from the same supply. In general, EPA regu-
               lates drinking water contaminants which may cause
              cancer based on a risk of 1 in 10,000 to 1 in
              1,000,000. A risk of 1 in 1,000,000 for a lifetime
             indicates that one person in every 1,000,000 people
             exposed to the causative agent can be expected to
             contract a specified disease.

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Summary
                 All consumers of water provided by public water
                 supplies should be aware of the source, quality,
                 monitoring requirements, and violations associ-
                 ated with their water supply. Consumers should
                 contact their state public health or environmental
               office, or local water department for this information .

              Treatment for organic contamination is generally
              most economical and effective at the water treatment
              plant. Since the SDWA requires that water plants
                supply water to their consumers which meet speci-
                fied standards, the use of point-of-use (single tap) or
                 point-of-entry (whole house) devices such as carbon
                 units to remove potential organics from public
                 water supplies is generally unnecessary.  If con-
                sumers are interested in home treatment units they
              should first find out about the quality of their water to
              determine if such units are necessary, then research
              the units thoroughly.

              In late 1987, EPA's Offices of Pesticides Programs and
              Drinking Water initiated a national survey of pesti-
              cide  contamination in drinking water wells.  The two
                year survey, scheduled for completion in 1990, will
                 sample a total of 1350 private and community
                 water system wells in all 50 states. Over 100
                 pesticides and pesticide by-products will be ana-
                 lyzed for each well. The survey results will make it
                possible for the first time to characterize the na-
              tional levels and extent of occurrence of pesticides in
              drinking water wells.
                   Even though the vast majority of drinking water
                   systems provide a safe supply of drinking water,
                   EPA and states have taken great strides in
                   passing laws and regulations designed to protect
              consumers from potential drinking water contami-
              nants.  Today, laws exist to regulate organic, inor-
              ganic, and radionuclide contaminants as well as
              microbiological and parasitic organisms. Surface
              water systems are required to filter and disinfect their
              water and soon groundwater systems will be required
              to disinfect.  All these laws are designed to protect the
              consumer.

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                    Public health officials should not, however, be
              complacent in their regulation of drinking water. It
              must be recognized by all parties, that water is a
              precious commodity and that its protection requires
              diligence, commitment, and a willingness by consum-
              ers to pay the full costs of a safe, potable water
              supply.
For More Information
           American Water Works Association
           (Water utility information)             (303) 794-7711

           Association of State Drinking Water
           Administrators (State drinking water
           information, consumer education guides) (703) 524-2428
           EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline
           (Publications on lead, pesticides,
           radon, etc.)



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