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.

-------