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As part of the Drinking Water and Health pages, this fact sheet is part of a
larger publication:
National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations
This is a fact sheet about a chemical that may be found in some public or
private drinking water supplies. It may cause health problems if found in
amounts greater than the health standard set by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Some people who drink water containing arsenic in excess of EPA's standard
over many years could experience skin damage or problems with their
circulatory system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
Arsenic Rule Implementation
On January 22, 2001 EPA adopted a new standard for arsenic in drinking
water at 10 ppb, replacing the old standard of 50 ppb. The rule
became effective on February 22, 2002. The date by which systems
must comply with the new 10 ppb standard is January 23, 2006.
Final Implementation Guidance for the Arsenic Rule
The final Implementation Guidance for the Arsenic Rule is based on the
final rule published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2001. It
incorporates comments received on the previous draft implementation
guidance's, and from the training sessions on the arsenic rule held
throughout the country. The guidance summarizes key sections of the
Proposed Rule and provides a "how to approach" for EPA Regions and
States to implement the regulation. It contains an explanation of the
rule's requirements and guidance for preparing State primacy revision
applications. The document incorporates comments received from Regions,
States, technical assistance providers, water systems, and others. |
 Minor
Clarification of National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Arsenic
- Final Rule EPA is affirming
that the public health standard for arsenic in drinking water
established in January 2001 is 10 parts per billion (ppb). In today’s
action, EPA is making clear that when a monitoring result is expressed
in milligrams per liter (mg/L) rather than ppb, that any monitoring
result greater than 0.010 mg/l is a violation of the January 2001
arsenic standard. To assure that this clarification extends to the
regulatory text for arsenic and to remove any implementation uncertainty
relating to this issue, EPA has amended the arsenic Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) to express it as 0.010 mg/l. |
Learn more about your drinking water!
EPA strongly encourages people to learn more about their drinking water, and
to support local efforts to protect and upgrade the supply of safe drinking
water. Your water bill or telephone books government listings are a good
starting point. Your local water
supplier can give you a list of the chemicals they test for in your water,
as well as how your water is treated.
Your state Department of Health/Environment is also a valuable source of
information.
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