jnnec Stales                      Office of Water
                Environmental Protection              Office of Pesticides ana
                Agency	Toxic Substances                   Fall 1990

&EPA    National  Pesticide  Survey

                How EPA  Will Use The National
                Pesticide  Survey Results
                    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its five-year
               National Survey of Pesticides in Drinking Water Wells (NPS). This fact sheet provides
               an overview of how EPA will use the NPS results.  The results will allow EPA to
               understand the extent of the problem of contamination of drinking water wells from a
               national perspective.

How Results   Under the Safe Drinking Wtter Act
Will Be Used
               •    Identify chemicals for future regulation (i.e., support the development of new
                    Maximum Contaminant Levels).

               •    Identify the range of pesticide concentrations found in community water systems
                    to help determine the feasibility of drinking water treatment.

               •    Determine appropriate monitoring requirements for public water supplies.

               •    Support analyses of cost and risk reduction impacts of new regulations on water
                    suppliers and customers.

               •    Improve assessments by water suppliers of the vulnerability of their ground-
                    water resources to contamination by pesticides and nitrate.

               •    Identify conditions where wellhead protection programs are needed.

               •    Identify steps that should be taken under wellhead protection programs to
               ^    prevent contamination of water supplies.
               ~>
               •    Determine whether legislative changes are needed to improve protection of
                    public and private drinking water supplies.

               «    Establish and maintain working relationships with the States to build  and
                    facilitate implementation of State drinking water programs related to pesticides
                    and ground water.

               Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodentlclde Act

                    Identify candidates, set priorities, and make decisions on special reviews and
                    restricted use, such as label restrictions.

                    Identify pesticides for which EPA will require the registrant to conduct
                    monitoring surveys or other studies to address concerns about the chemicals'
                    potential to leach into ground water.
NPS How EPA Will Utt Nation*! Pcst/c/d* Survey Rttuttt

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Where to Go
for More
Information
•     Identify factors that influence contamination of wells by pesticides and use the
      information to develop guidance for State pesticide management plans.

•     Identify areas where full scale State management plans are required for
      pesticides subject to regulation under the State management plan approach.

      Work with States to focus State monitoring and regulation of pesticides,  and
      State training and certification programs.

•     Improve monitoring and environmental indicator strategies.

Pollution Prevention

•     Learn if there are some eariy warning signals to indicate where pesticide or
      nitrate contamination of drinking water may be a problem in the future.  Use the
      information to set a pollution prevention strategy.

•     Identify additional information that should be gathered by pesticide and  fertilizer
      distributors, formulators and users to identify prevention control points and to
      serve as an eariy warning system for potential ground-water contamination.

Research

•     Work to reduce monitoring costs by teaming about the relationship between the
     ' results of one-time sampling compared to repeated sampling at the same well.

•     Improve multimedia risk assessments of pesticide and nitrate exposures.

      This fact sheet is part of a series of NPS outreach materials, fact sheets and
reports. The following additional fact sheets are available through EPA's Public
Information Center (401 M Street SW, Washington DC 20460, 202-382-2080):
                  Project Summary

                  Analytical Methods

                  Quality Assurance/
                  Quality Control
                            Summary Resuffs

                            Survey Anatyte*

                            Fact Shaat for aach
                            detected anafyta
Survey Design

G/o**ary
                        Additional information on the Survey and on pesticides in general can be
                  obtained from the following sources:
                  U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline
                  1-800-426-4791 On Washington, DC - 382-5533)
                  Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time

                  National Pesticide Telecommunications Network
                  1-800-858-7378
                  24 hours a day

                  U.S. EPA Office of Pesticide  Programs (OPP) Docket
                  Public  Information Branch (H7506C)
                  401 M Street,  SW
                  Washington, DC  20460
                  Telephone:   (703) 557-2805
                                                  Information on regulation of
                                                  pesticides in drinking
                                                  water

                                                  Information on health
                                                  effects and safe
                                                  handling of pesticides

                                                  Background  documents
                                                  for Survey (available
                                                  for review)
                                                   NPS How EPA Witt (/•• National P»«tfc/d« Survey K

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                  National Technical Information Service (NTIS)          Copies of the
                  5285 Port Royal Road                               NPS Phase I Report
                  Springfield, VA 22161                               (available 1991) and
                  (703) 487-4650                                     NPS Phase II Report
                                                                    (when available)

                  If you are concerned about the presence of pesticides and nitrate in your private water
                  well, contact your local or State health department. Other experts in your State
                  environmental agency or agriculture and health department may  also be  helpful to
                  you.  If you receive your drinking water from a community water system and have
                  questions about your water quality, contact your local community water system
                  owner/operator or the State water supply agency.
NPS Now EPA Will (/•• Htton»l P«*tfctt« Sumy

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U.S. EPA Regional Office Contacts
HtQIOfl
i
(CT. ME, MA.
NH. Rl, VT)
II
(NJ. NY. PR, VI)
III
(DE. DC. MD,
PA. WV, VA)
IV
(AL. FL. GA, KY,
MS, NC, SC,
TN)
V
(IL, IN. Ml. MN,
OH, Wl)
VI
(AR, LA. NM,
OK. 7X?
VII
(IA. KS, MO,
NE)
VIII
(CO, MT. ND,
SD, UT, WY)
IX
(A2, CA, HI, NV)
X
(AK, ID, MM,
OR;
Drinking Water
Water Quality Branch
(617) 5654531
Drinking/Qround-Water
Protection Branch
(212) 264-1800
Drinking Water/Ground-Water
Protection Branch
(215) 5974227
Water Quality Management
Branch
(404) 347-2126
Sale Drinking Water Branch
(312) 353-2151
Water Quality Management
Branch
(214) 655-7135
Drinking Water Branch
(913)551-7032
Drinking Water Branch
(303) 293-1430
Drinking Water Branch
(415) 465-2110
Drinking Water Branch
(208)442-4082
Peeileldee
Office of Peeticidee and Toxic
Subetancee
(617) 56S3273
PeeticidM and Toxic Subetancea
Branch
(212) 340-6765
Toxic* and Peeticide* Branch
(215)597-6596
PeeticidM and Toxice
Subetancea Branch
(404) 347-5201
Pesticide* and Toxic Subetancea
Branch
(312)666-6006
Peeticidea and Toxice Branch
(214) 655-7239
Toxic* and Peeticidee Branch
(913) 551-7020
Toxic Substance* Branch
(303) 293-1730
Peeticidea and Toxic* Branch
(415)556-5628
Peeticidee and Toxic Subetancee
Branch
(206)442-1196
Ground Water
Ground-Water Management and
Water Supply Branch
(617) 565-3610
Drinking/Ground-Water Protect on
Branch
(212)264-1800
Drinking Water/Ground-Water
Protection Branch
(215) 597-6227
Ground-Water Protection Branch
(404) 347-3666
Office of Ground Water
(312) 886-1490
Water Quality Management Branch
(214) 655-7135
Office of Ground-Water Protection
(913) 551-7033
Ground-Water Branch
(303) 293-1796
Water Quality Planning and
Standard* Branch
(415) 465-2181
Drinking Water Branch
(206)442-4092
                   WPS How EPA wm (/•• NfOontl P**0ddo Survey f--.  f»

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