Impact/Purpose:

This research will address the following questions: Is there an association between living in an area served by water with elevated levels of drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and an increased risk of spontaneous abortion? Is living in an area served by water with elevated levels of chlorinated DBPs, brominated DBPs, or individual DBP species associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion? Are women who receive water with elevated levels of DBPs and ingest greater amounts of that water at increased risk of spontaneous abortion? The findings from this study will be applicable in any future DBP regulatory development activities beyond the DBP Stage 2 Rule.

Description:

A limited number of epidemiological studies have evaluated the potential association between exposure to disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water and adverse reproductive outcomes. Reproductive effects that have been reported include spontaneous abortions, congenital defects, low birth weight, prematurity and small for gestational age. The risk estimates derived from these studies are highly uncertain due to differences in study design, characterization of exposures, and ascertainment of health effects. One of the most important studies to draw attention to this issue was an investigation in California by Waller et al. (1998). In this study, high levels of exposure to trihalomethanes, and bromodichloromethane in particular, were associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. The current study, which is sponsored by EPA and the Microbial/Disinfection By-Product Council, represents an attempt to see if exposure assessment can be improved by studying spontaneous abortion in these areas with different DBP profiles in drinking water (low total THM, high CI and high Br).

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