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Guidancevalues

The document discusses various types of standards and guidance values used by the EPA and MDH to regulate contaminants in drinking water and protect public health. It describes Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) established by the EPA considering health impacts and costs of treatment; Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) based solely on health; and Health-Based Values (HBVs) and Health Risk Limits (HRLs) set by MDH to provide guidance. Revisions to standards and guidance occur infrequently or annually as new information becomes available. The partnership between regulatory agencies and water systems aims to provide clean drinking water for all Minnesotans.

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17 views

Guidancevalues

The document discusses various types of standards and guidance values used by the EPA and MDH to regulate contaminants in drinking water and protect public health. It describes Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) established by the EPA considering health impacts and costs of treatment; Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) based solely on health; and Health-Based Values (HBVs) and Health Risk Limits (HRLs) set by MDH to provide guidance. Revisions to standards and guidance occur infrequently or annually as new information becomes available. The partnership between regulatory agencies and water systems aims to provide clean drinking water for all Minnesotans.

Uploaded by

kabutiko24
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Guidance Values and Standards for

Contaminants in Drinking Water


PARTNERS IN SAFE DRINKING WATER
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Minnesota Department of Health
(MDH), public water systems, and citizens work in partnership to keep our drinking water clean and safe
for all Minnesotans.
The 1974 federal Safe Drinking Water Act directs the US EPA to set national drinking water standards for
naturally occurring and man-made contaminants in public drinking water. These standards represent
legally enforceable limits. MDH enforces these drinking water standards for public water systems in
Minnesota.
Public water systems regularly test drinking water supplies. Public water supplies must meet the
drinking water standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Results of this testing are available to each
customer through an annual consumer confidence report.
The 1989 Groundwater Protection Act directs MDH to develop health-based guidance values for
groundwater that is used for drinking water. These values are used by state programs to protect people
and the environment. These values are especially important when no other guidance value is available.

Drinking Water Standards and Guidance


MDH uses and develops several types of standards and guidance to protect Minnesotans’ health from
contaminants in drinking water. Drinking water that is contaminated above a standard or guidance may
pose some level of health risk to some people drinking the water.
No water is completely free of contaminants. All Minnesotans can use standards and guidance values to
determine what level of a contaminant in water is acceptable for themselves and their family.
Treatment options may be available to reduce levels of contaminants in your drinking water if testing,
either by you or a public water system, shows that contaminants have been found.

Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs)


▪ Established By: US EPA
▪ Considerations: Health impact, cost and technology of prevention and/or treatment
▪ Review: Changes to MCLs are rarely made
All public water systems in Minnesota must meet these standards. For most people, water that meets all
MCLs is safe to drink.
MCLs are established through a scientific process that evaluates the health impacts of the contaminant
and the technology and cost required for prevention and/or treatment. States are allowed to enforce
lower (more strict) standards than MCLs, but are not allowed to enforce higher (less strict) standards.
New MCLs or changes to existing MCLs are rarely made.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs)


▪ Established By: US EPA
▪ Considerations: Health impact only
▪ Review: Changes to MCLGs are rarely made
1
GUIDANCE VALUES AND STANDARDS FOR CONTAMINANTS IN DRINKING WATER

MCLGs are very protective, even for sensitive populations like infants, children, and others who may be
at increased risk of negative health impacts. MCLGs do not consider cost and technology needs of
prevention and/or treatment and may be set at levels that are costly, challenging, or impossible for a
water system to meet. MCLGs are not enforceable and public water systems in Minnesota are not
required to meet these values.

Health Advisories
▪ Established By: US EPA
▪ Considerations: Non-cancer health impact only
▪ Review: Changes to the table of Health Advisories are made every two to three years
Health advisories for contaminants in drinking water are based on non-cancer health effects for
different lengths of exposure (one day, ten days, or lifetime). Health advisories provide technical
guidance to the US EPA and other public health officials and are not regulatory values.

Health-Based Values (HBVs) and Health Risk Limits (HRLs)


▪ Established By: MDH
▪ Considerations: Health impact only
▪ Review: New or revised guidance for eight to ten chemicals per year
An HBV or HRL is the level of a contaminant that can be present in water and pose little or no health risk
to a person drinking that water. HBVs and HRLs are guidance used by the public, risk managers, and
other stakeholders to make decisions about managing the health risks of contaminants in groundwater
and drinking water. HBVs are updated when significant new information is available. HRLs are guidance
values that have been through the Minnesota rulemaking process, which includes at least one public
comment period for stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed guidance values.
HBVs and HRLs do not consider cost and technology of prevention and/or treatment and may be set at
levels that are costly, challenging, or impossible for a water system to meet.

Risk Assessment Advice (RAA)


▪ Established By: MDH
▪ Considerations: Health impact only
▪ Review: Rare; only developed when there is not enough information to develop an HBV or HRL
An RAA can be a level of chemical in drinking water that poses little or no health risk to a person drinking
that water, similar to HBVs or HRLs. RAAs can also be a written description of how harmful a chemical is,
compared to a similar chemical. RAAs are generally based on more limited information than HBVs and
HRLs or use an alternative risk assessment method.

Minnesota Department of Health | Environmental Health Division


PO Box 64975 | St. Paul, MN | 55164-0975 | 651-201-4899
www.health.state.mn.us
To obtain this information in a different format, call: 651-201-4899.
February 2022 R

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