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School and Childcare Center Drinking Water: Copper Chemistry, Health Effects, Occurrence, and Remediation
Citation:
Montagnino, E., D. Lytle, J. Rose, D. Cwiertny, AND A. Whelton. School and Childcare Center Drinking Water: Copper Chemistry, Health Effects, Occurrence, and Remediation. AWWA Water Science. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 4(2):e1270, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1270
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this study was to better understand the risks of elevated copper levels at U.S. schools and childcare centers. Study objectives were to: (1) describe the chemistry of copper occurrences in school and childcare center drinking water systems, (2) review acute and chronic health impacts associated with the ingestion of copper contaminated water, and (3) examine the effectiveness of remedial actions to address copper in drinking water. Of the more than 98,000 schools and 500,000 childcare centers in the U.S., only about 0.2% of those facilities (17,653) had copper drinking water testing data in the federal Safe Drinking Water Information System database created in 1992. Of the facilities designated public water systems, about 13% (2,332 of 6,419) had reported a copper drinking water exceedance. Over a period of 30 years, very few studies have been conducted to document copper levels in schools and childcare centers. Available studies reported widely different sampling protocols and remedial actions. Flushing copper containing water from plumbing was the most evaluated remedial action but was not found to be reliable because copper quickly rebounded when flushing stopped. In–building water treatment with ion exchange systems and orthophosphate corrosion inhibitor addition have been used. Health risk is difficult to determine due to the limited occurrence data and lack of studies on best management practices.
Description:
The goal of this study was to better understand the risks of elevated copper levels at U.S. schools and childcare centers. Study objectives were to: (1) describe the chemistry of copper occurrences in school and childcare center drinking water systems, (2) review acute and chronic health impacts associated with the ingestion of copper contaminated water, and (3) examine the effectiveness of remedial actions to address copper in drinking water. Of the more than 98,000 schools and 500,000 childcare centers in the U.S., only about 0.2% of those facilities (17,653) had copper drinking water testing data in the federal Safe Drinking Water Information System database created in 1992. Of the facilities designated public water systems, about 13% (2,332 of 6,419) had reported a copper drinking water exceedance. Over a period of 30 years, very few studies have been conducted to document copper levels in schools and childcare centers. Available studies reported widely different sampling protocols and remedial actions. Flushing copper containing water from plumbing was the most evaluated remedial action but was not found to be reliable because copper quickly rebounded when flushing stopped. In–building water treatment with ion exchange systems and orthophosphate corrosion inhibitor addition have been used. Health risk is difficult to determine due to the limited occurrence data and lack of studies on best management practices.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: School and Childcare Center Drinking Water: Copper Chemistry, Health Effects, Occurrence, and Remediation
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