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DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS OF HEALTH CONCERN IN DRINKING WATER: RESULTS OF A NATIONWIDE OCCURRENCE STUDY
Citation:
Richardson, S D., A D. Thruston Jr., S. W. Krasner, H. S. Weinberg, R. Chinn, M. J. Sclimenti, S. Pastor, AND G. D. Onstad. DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS OF HEALTH CONCERN IN DRINKING WATER: RESULTS OF A NATIONWIDE OCCURRENCE STUDY. Presented at 51st American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 8-12, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
(1) Use toxicity-based approach to identify DBPs that show the greatest toxic response. (2) Comprehensively identify DBPs formed by different disinfectant regimes for the 'Four Lab Study'. (3) Determine the mechanisms of formation for potentially hazardous bromonitromethane DBPs.
Description:
Drinking water disinfection by-products (DBPs) are of concern because some epidemiologic studies have shown that some DBPs are associated with cancer or adverse reproductive/developmental effects in human populations, and other studies have shown that certain DBPs cause similar health effects in laboratory animals. As a result, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated several DBPs; however, most DBPs have not been tested for adverse health effects due to the high costs involved. In order to prioritize new DBPs for health effects testing, we initiated a Nationwide Occurrence Study to quantify 'high priority' DBPs (those predicted by toxicology experts to possibly have an adverse health effect) to determine how often they occur and at what levels. The fate and transport of these DBPs in the distribution system was also studied, and new DBPs were identified.