2/24/2009 US EPA CHLORAMINES-RELATED RESEARCH 14) How did EPA evaluate the safety of monochloramine for use as a drinking water disinfectant? EPA evaluated monochloramine primarily through an analysis of human health and animal data. • Research reviewed in EPA's safety analysis is contained in EPA's Drinking Water Criteria Document for Chloramines.1 • The criteria document for monochloramine provides a complete summary of health and other data considered in establishing a monochloramine standard. • EPA periodically updates the monochloramine "criteria document." EPA's monochloramine standard2 is set at a level where no human health effects are expected to occur. • Data from animal and human studies provide information on the health effects of monochloramine. • EPA reviews and considers new research results as they become available.3 • EPA's standard for monochloramine takes data gaps and uncertainty into account by building safety factors4 into the regulatory standard. EPA reviewed historical data in its evaluation of monochloramine. • Monochloramine has been in use as a drinking water disinfectant since the 1930's.5 • Decades of use in the US, Canada, and Great Britain shows that monochloramine is an effective secondary drinking water disinfectant. • Denver, Philadelphia, and other large cities have used monochloramine as part of their water treatment process for years. Additional Supporting Information: 1. The Drinking Water Criteria Document for Chloramines can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/pdfs/water/chloramine/dwchloramine.pdf. Publication No.: ECAO-CIN-D002, March, 1994. 2. The Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) for chloramines is 4 parts per million (ppm). 3. See the Contaminant Candidate List online at http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/ccl/ccl3.html for contaminants that EPA proposes to review. EPA scientists review regulations of disinfectants and disinfection byproducts every six years. For information on EPA's six-year review visit: http://epa.gov/safewater/review.html 4. For additional information regarding how uncertainty factors (also known as safety factors) are applied to risk assessments to provide a wide margin of safety see: http://epa.gov/risk/dose-response.htm. 5. Cleveland, OH, Springfield, IL, and Lansing, Ml were among the first cities to use monochloramine in 1929 (see Chapter 1 of The Quest for Pure Water Vol II, AWWA, 1981). ------- |