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EWG Statement, 03/10/2008

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Status: For this chemical EPA has established a non-enforceable guideline called a "secondary standard," regulating it for aesthetic or cosmetic concerns (taste, odor, tooth discoloration, etc.)

Manganese is a element from natural deposits as well as industrial use. Potential health impacts associated with Manganese include gastrointestinal or liver toxicity, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and respiratory toxicity.

Sources of Manganese:

	Industry
	Naturally Occurring (naturally present but increased for lands denuded by sprawl, agriculture, or industrial development)

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Manganese tests reported by 16,939 public water suppliers in 33 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 60.2 million people in 8,184 communities drank water contaminated with Manganese. In 2,273 of these communities, tap water was contaminated at levels above health-based thresholds.

Exposure Summary

60,165,280 People drinking water contaminated with Manganese 8,184 Communities served water contaminated with Manganese 6,089,914 People drinking water contaminated with Manganese over health based limits 2,273 Communities served water with Manganese above health based limits

Table. Manganese Exposure by State

6.1 million Americans in 28 states were served tap water contaminated with Manganese at levels above health-based limits between 1998 and 2003.

State	Water suppliers with Manganese contamination		Water suppliers reporting Manganese above health-based limits
	Systems	Population	Systems	Population
California	789	21,517,523	313	2,324,108
Michigan	285	932,757	81	456,061
Washington	897	2,920,534	383	455,243
Illinois	556	2,059,047	143	376,210
Wisconsin	722	2,763,505	154	353,463
Ohio	96	451,336	38	318,739
Texas	1,816	10,154,614	299	284,677
Missouri	541	1,251,020	58	233,126
New Hampshire	403	632,468	225	220,520
Utah	54	1,371,175	8	171,072
North Carolina	729	3,650,513	210	154,358
Idaho	32	338,440	20	137,538
New Jersey	259	5,743,692	26	102,356
Minnesota	17	134,338	12	94,012
New York	94	474,792	44	76,959
Nevada	106	2,039,330	21	63,884
Nebraska	84	415,023	35	60,816
Maine	276	558,085	50	46,222
Pennsylvania	33	200,889	13	43,437
Tennessee	67	1,160,880	8	38,281
North Dakota	100	70,882	58	28,297
Virginia	141	415,232	55	26,460
Alabama	37	256,181	5	15,075
Iowa	5	8,370	3	4,127
New Mexico	5	3,257	3	2,877
Montana	11	2,669	5	1,232
Alaska	8	2,719	1	425
Delaware	19	217,114	2	339
Florida	1	416,303	0	0
Rhode Island	1	2,592	0	0
Total	8,184	60,165,280	2,273	6,089,914

Table. The most polluted communities

6.1 million Americans in 2,273 communities were served tap water contaminated with Manganese above health based limits between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Manganese level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Green Lake Waterworks Green Lake, WI	1,064	1 of 1	16300 ppb (16300 to 16300 ppb)
2	Whispering Pines Development Charlotte, NC	2,962	1 of 1	14690 ppb (14690 to 14690 ppb)
3	River Valley Apts - South Elm Grove, WI	48	1 of 1	9800 ppb (9800 to 9800 ppb)
4	Ennis Parc Pleasant Valley, NY	175	1 of 2	5000 ppb (0 to 10000 ppb)
5	Cedar Hollow Mobile Home Park Wappingers Falls, NY	200	1 of 2	5000 ppb (0 to 10000 ppb)
6	Heathrow Water System Oak Harbor, WA	54	2 of 2	4536.5 ppb (173 to 8900 ppb)
7	Spring Green Dorothy West Racine, WI	25	1 of 1	4000 ppb (4000 to 4000 ppb)
8	City of West Point Water West Point, NE	3,660	2 of 2	3280 ppb (3240 to 3320 ppb)
9	Daniels Acres (upper) Enfield, NH	78	1 of 1	2780 ppb (2780 to 2780 ppb)
10	Parker Ridge Retirement Commission Blue Hill, ME	114	2 of 2	2678.5 ppb (17 to 5340 ppb)

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Health based limits for Manganese

Health Limit	Limit Value	Limit Description
EPA Human Health Water Quality Criteria	50 ppb	Water quality criteria set by the US EPA provide guidance for states and tribes authorized to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to protect human health. These are non-enforceable standards based upon exposure by both drinking water and the contribution of water contamination to other consumed foods. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure	1000 ppb	Concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse, noncarcinogenic health effects for up to one day of exposure. The One-Day health-based limit (or Health Advisory, HA) is typically set to protect a 10-kg child consuming 1 liter of water per day. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Children's health-based limit for 10-day exposure	1000 ppb	Concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse, noncarcinogenic effects for up to ten days of exposure. The Ten-Day health-based limit (or Health Advisory, HA) is typically set to protect a 10-kg child consuming 1 liter of water per day. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Lifetime health-based limit, non-cancer risk	300 ppb	Concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse, noncarcinogenic health effects for a lifetime of exposure. The Lifetime health-based limit (or Health Advisory, HA) is based on exposure for a a 70-kg adult consuming 2 liters of water per day. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations	50 ppb	A National Secondary Drinking Water Regulation is a non-enforceable guideline regarding contaminants that may cause cosmetic effects (such as taste, odor, or color). Some states choose to adopt them as enforceable standards. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Drinking Water Equivalent Level	1600 ppb	A lifetime exposure concentration protective of adverse, noncarcinogenic health effects, that assumes all of the exposure to a contaminant is from drinking water. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Testing Summary for Manganese

Water suppliers report an average of 0.5 Manganese tests per year. 22,812 water suppliers failed to report any Manganese tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Manganese by federal law? Yes Water suppliers reporting tests for Manganese (1998-2003): 16,939 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.5 per year

Manganese Violations

Table. 0.5 percent of all water suppliers violated safe drinking water standards for Manganese between 1998 and 2003

Violation Type	Violations	Systems
Any Violation (1998-2003)	327	274
	(0.5% of all suppliers)
Testing violations (1998-2003)	316	267
	(0.5% of all suppliers)
Violations of tap water pollution standards (1998-2003)	11	8
	(< 0.1% of all suppliers)