You are here:
ANALYZING DRINKING WATER FOR DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS
Citation:
Urbansky*, E T. AND M L. Magnuson*. ANALYZING DRINKING WATER FOR DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS. Murray, R.W. (ed.), Analytical Chemistry. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 74(9):260A-267A, (2002).
Description:
In the mid 19th Century, Chinese workers on the North American transcontinental railroad suffered less illness than other groups. While generally mysterious at the time, today the reason is obvious. The Chinese preference for tea required heating the water, thus killing many pathogenic microorganisms. Today, the need to kill microorganisms in water is largely met through the addition of oxidizing chemicals to the source water. The incidence of water borne illness has decreased dramatically during the 20th Century, increasing human productivity and longevity. In addition to affecting the microorganisms, however, oxidizing disinfectants react with non-living substances in drinking water sources. These disinfection byproducts (DBPs), some of which are carcinogenic, are the subject of human health concerns. An entire field of analytical chemistry has sprung up to study DBPs. This report is an overview of DBP analytical chemistry research at EPA over the past 25 years. Much early work was performed by the EPA's Drinking Water Research Division to support regulation development. This was followed by an explosive growth of interest outside the Agency, such as academia, the AWWARF, nd the USGS. However, because of EPA's influence, primarily related to regulation, EPA's work provided a framework of DBP analytical chemistry research in general.