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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