National Drinking Water Database
National Drinking Water Database - Chemical Contaminants
Metolachlor
Status: Unregulated - EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Metolachlor is an herbicide applied on corn, soybeans, peanuts, cotton and pod crops. [read more]
Detected |
Found above health guidelines |
Found above legal limit |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| States | 20 |
- |
- |
| Water utilities | 115 |
- |
- |
| People Served | 6,715,878 |
- |
- |
Health Concerns for Metolachlor:
Metolachlor Exposure by State
Water utilities in 20 states have reported detecting Metolachlor in treated tap water since 2004, according to EWG's analysis of water quality data supplied by state water agencies.
| State | Water Suppliers with Metolachlor contamination | |
|---|---|---|
| Systems | Population | |
| Texas | 18 | 3,055,764 |
| Nebraska | 14 | 804,126 |
| Virginia | 2 | 412,408 |
| Ohio | 1 | 380,000 |
| California | 2 | 374,414 |
| Illinois | 15 | 310,939 |
| Delaware | 9 | 281,733 |
| Maryland | 16 | 259,667 |
| Florida | 1 | 253,263 |
| Iowa | 13 | 197,309 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 145,292 |
| Missouri | 7 | 72,785 |
| Rhode Island | 2 | 61,309 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 52,000 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 18,275 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 16,000 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 11,951 |
| Alabama | 1 | 5,136 |
| New York | 2 | 3,200 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 307 |
| Total | 115 | 6,715,878 |
The Most Polluted Communities
115 water utilities reported detecting Metolachlor in tap water since 2004, according to EWG's analysis of water quality data supplied by state water agencies
Ranked by highest average Metolachlor level
| Rank | System | Population Served | Positive test results of total reported tests | Average Level (Range) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiron Water Supply Kiron, IA | 273 | 1 of 1 | 13 ppb (13 ppb) |
| 2 | Gladbrook Water Supply Gladbrook, IA | 1,015 | 6 of 6 | 10.68 ppb (6.7 to 16 ppb) |
| 3 | Town of Burkeville Burkeville, VA | 800 | 6 of 15 | 4.17 ppb (0 to 18.5 ppb) |
| 4 | Graettinger Municipal Water Supply Graettinge, IA | 933 | 5 of 5 | 3.36 ppb (0.2 to 16 ppb) |
| 5 | City of Holstein Holstein, IA | 1,477 | 1 of 1 | 1.7 ppb (1.7 ppb) |
| 6 | Kushla Water District Eight Mile, AL | 5,136 | 1 of 2 | 1.7 ppb (0 to 3.4 ppb) |
| 7 | Sioux Rapids Water Department Sioux Rapi, IA | 1,298 | 1 of 1 | 1.6 ppb (1.6 ppb) |
| 8 | Fort Plain (V) Water Works Fort Plain, NY | 2,400 | 4 of 7 | 1.41 ppb (0 to 3.22 ppb) |
| 9 | Evansville Evansville, IL | 740 | 9 of 25 | 1.36 ppb (0 to 8.6 ppb) |
| 10 | Peterson Municipal Water Supply Peterson, IA | 372 | 1 of 1 | 1.3 ppb (1.3 ppb) |
Health Based Limits for Metolachlor
| Standard | Description | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime health-based limit, non-cancer risk | 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. | 700 ppb |
| Health-Based Screening Level | A benchmark concentration of contaminants in water that may be of potential concern for human health, if exceeded. For noncarcinogens, the HBSL represents the contaminant concentration in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse effects over a lifetime of exposure. For carcinogens, the HBSL range represents the contaminant concentration in drinking water that corresponds to an excess estimated lifetime cancer risk of 1 chance in 1 million to 1 chance in 10 thousand. Source: U.S. Geological Survey. | 700 ppb |
| Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure | 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. | 2000 ppb |
| Children's health-based limit for 10-day exposure | 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. | 2000 ppb |
| Drinking Water Equivalent Level | 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. | 3500 ppb |
Testing Summary for Metolachlor
| Are tests routinely required for Metolachlor by federal law? | No |
| Water suppliers reporting tests for Metolachlor (2004-2009): | 14,028 of 47,576 |
| Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (2004-2009): | 0.4 per year |
Cancer
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 1992 |
| One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 1984 |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| One or more animal studies show sense organ effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient) | RTECS®- Nippon Noyaku Gakkaishi 1989 |
Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| One or more animal studies show skin irritation at moderate doses | RTECS®- Ciba-Geigy Toxicology Data/Indexes 1977 |
Government, industry, academic studies and classifications
| government/industry list/academic study | appears on list as | classification(s) |
| RTECS®- Ciba-Geigy Toxicology Data/Indexes 1977 | O-ACETOTOLUIDIDE, 2-CHLORO-6'-ETHYL-N-(2-METHOXY-1-METHYLETHYL)- | • skin - Primary skin irritant (rabbit ) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1984 | O-ACETOTOLUIDIDE, 2-CHLORO-6'-ETHYL-N-(2-METHOXY-1-METHYLETHYL)- | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Mutation in Micro-organism (Salmonella typhimurium ) • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Gene Conversion and Mitotic Recombination (Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1992 | O-ACETOTOLUIDIDE, 2-CHLORO-6'-ETHYL-N-(2-METHOXY-1-METHYLETHYL)- | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Cytogenetic Analysis ( human lym) |
| RTECS®- Nippon Noyaku Gakkaishi 1989 | O-ACETOTOLUIDIDE, 2-CHLORO-6'-ETHYL-N-(2-METHOXY-1-METHYLETHYL)- | • sense organ - Primary eye irritant (rabbit ) |
references
| government/industry list/academic study | reference |
| RTECS®- Ciba-Geigy Toxicology Data/Indexes 1977 | RTECS®- Ciba-Geigy Toxicology Data/Indexes. (Ciba-Geigy Corp., 556 Morris Ave., Summit, NJ 07901) -,-,1977 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1984 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 136,233,1984 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1992 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 281,295,1992 |
| RTECS®- Nippon Noyaku Gakkaishi 1989 | RTECS®- Nippon Noyaku Gakkaishi. Journal of the Pesticide Science Society of Japan. (Nippon Noyaku Gakkai, 1-43-11, Komagome, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170, Japan) V.1- 14,103,1989 |
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