02/24/2009 US EPA COMMON HEALTH QUESTIONS RELATED TO MONOCHLORAMINE 29) How can I remove monochloramine from my drinking water? EPA believes that drinking water disinfected with monochloramine that meets regulatory standards is safe to use and it does not need to be removed.1 • EPA drinking water regulations limit monochloramine use to levels where no adverse health effects are anticipated. • Water utilities must test drinking water regularly to make sure it is within EPA regulatory limits. • EPA's regulatory standard for monochloramine in drinking water provides a wide margin of safety2 to offset any uncertainties in risk assessments. Monochloramine can be more difficult to remove from drinking water than chlorine. • Boiling water does not remove monochloramine from drinking water. • Allowing water to sit at room temperature does not remove monochloramine from drinking water. • Reverse osmosis filters3 do not remove monochloramine from drinking water. Commercial products are available that indicate that they remove monochloramine from drinking water. • Commercial products that remove monochloramine from drinking water often contain certifications describing their effectiveness.3 • Some home treatment systems and water filters3 may remove monochloramine. 4 • EPA does not test or certify home treatment systems or filters3 that may remove monochloramine from drinking water. Additional Supporting Information: 1. See question 14 for information on how EPA evaluated safety of monochloramine use as a drinking water disinfectant. 2. 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. 3. To search for household water treatment units certified to remove chlorine and/ or chloramine use the following link and search by Product standard NSF/ANSI 42: Drinking Water Treatment Units, aesthetic Effects. http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?id=1165§ion=3. Also, use the following link and select "chloramines reduction" and then click on search: http://www.nsf.org/certified/dwtu/. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. 4. See question 22 for information regarding removing monochloramine for aquarium use. ------- |