National Drinking Water Database
National Drinking Water Database - Chemical Contaminants
Phenanthrene
Status: Unregulated - EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Phenanthrene is a pollutant from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, and is also used in the manufacture of dyes, explosives and pharmaceuticals.
Detected |
Found above health guidelines |
Found above legal limit |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| States | 10 |
- |
- |
| Water utilities | 32 |
- |
- |
| People Served | 1,881,158 |
- |
- |
Health Concerns for Phenanthrene:
Phenanthrene Exposure by State
Water utilities in 10 states have reported detecting Phenanthrene in treated tap water since 2004, according to EWG's analysis of water quality data supplied by state water agencies.
| State | Water Suppliers with Phenanthrene contamination | |
|---|---|---|
| Systems | Population | |
| New Jersey | 7 | 1,529,987 |
| Delaware | 4 | 237,774 |
| Arkansas | 8 | 54,967 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 43,809 |
| New Hampshire | 3 | 3,248 |
| Maine | 1 | 3,075 |
| Nevada | 1 | 3,000 |
| California | 1 | 2,772 |
| Texas | 2 | 1,740 |
| Iowa | 4 | 786 |
| Total | 32 | 1,881,158 |
The Most Polluted Communities
32 water utilities reported detecting Phenanthrene in tap water since 2004, according to EWG's analysis of water quality data supplied by state water agencies
Ranked by highest average Phenanthrene level
| Rank | System | Population Served | Positive test results of total reported tests | Average Level (Range) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hampton Waterworks Hampton, AR | 1,770 | 4 of 5 | 1.85 ppb (0 to 4.78 ppb) |
| 2 | Plover Water Supply Storm Lake, IA | 95 | 1 of 1 | 1.5 ppb (1.5 ppb) |
| 3 | Palmer Water Supply Palmer, IA | 214 | 1 of 2 | 0.6 ppb (0 to 1.2 ppb) |
| 4 | Arsenal Water System Pine Bluff, AR | 2,577 | 1 of 2 | 0.55 ppb (0 to 1.09 ppb) |
| 5 | Rector Waterworks Rector, AR | 2,194 | 6 of 15 | 0.28 ppb (0 to 1.5 ppb) |
| 6 | NJ American Water Company Shorthills, NJ | 217,230 | 1 of 1 | 0.21 ppb (0.21 ppb) |
| 7 | Modale Water Supply Modale, IA | 303 | 1 of 1 | 0.2 ppb (0.2 ppb) |
| 8 | Harrisburg Waterworks Harrisburg, AR | 2,192 | 2 of 4 | 0.19 ppb (0 to 0.47 ppb) |
| 9 | Lost Hills Utility District Lost Hills, CA | 2,772 | 1 of 2 | 0.17 ppb (0 to 0.34 ppb) |
| 10 | City of Brenham Brenham, TX | 1,200 | 1 of 5 | 0.12 ppb (0 to 0.6 ppb) |
Testing Summary for Phenanthrene
| Are tests routinely required for Phenanthrene by federal law? | No |
| Water suppliers reporting tests for Phenanthrene (2004-2009): | 2,612 of 47,576 |
| Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (2004-2009): | 0.4 per year |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife | EPA PBTs - Waste Minimization Program (RCRA) |
| Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
| Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Cancer
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| Cancer - not classifiable/not likely to be human carcinogen | EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Developments in Toxicology and Environtal Science 1982 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1973 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Personal Communication from J 1982 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1974 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Biochemical Pharmacology 1971 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 1979 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1977 |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 2001 |
| One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 1986 |
| One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 1991 |
| One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 1995 |
| One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 2002 |
| One or more in vitro tests on microorganisms show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Biochemical Journal 1968 |
| Cancer - not classifiable/not likely to be human carcinogen | Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| Limited evidence of respiratory toxicity | National Toxicology Program |
| Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity | National Toxicology Program |
| Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Ecotoxicology
| Type of concern: | Reference: |
| Wildlife and environmental toxicity | EPA Clean Water Act - Priority Pollutants |
| Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Government, industry, academic studies and classifications
| government/industry list/academic study | appears on list as | classification(s) |
| EPA Clean Water Act - Priority Pollutants | PHENANTHRENE | •Priority water pollutant under the Clean Water Act |
| EPA PBTs - Waste Minimization Program (RCRA) | PHENANTHRENE | •Persistent, bioaccumulative toxicant - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, priority chemical for voluntary waste/emission reductions |
| EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) | PHENANTHRENE | •Group D: Not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity (EPA classification) |
| Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens | PHENANTHRENE | •IARC Group 3 (no cancer link) |
| National Toxicology Program | PHENANTHRENE | •Respiratory toxicity hazards: suspected |
| National Toxicology Program | PHENANTHRENE | •Skin or sense organ toxicity hazards: suspected |
| Environment Canada Domestic Substance List | PHENANTHRENE | •This chemical was NOT flagged by CEPA for further attention. The chemical was flagged for suspected aquatic toxicity. |
| RTECS®- Biochemical Journal 1968 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Adduct (salmon tes) |
| RTECS®- Biochemical Pharmacology 1971 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage (hamster fbr) |
| RTECS®- Developments in Toxicology and Environtal Science 1982 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Mutation in Mammalian Somatic Cells ( human lym) |
| RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 2001 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Morphological Transform (mouse fbr) |
| RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1973 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Morphological Transform (rat emb) |
| RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1974 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Morphological Transform (mouse emb) |
| RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1977 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Sister Chromatid Exchange (hamster fbr) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1986 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Mutation in Micro-organism (Salmonella typhimurium ) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1991 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Phage Inhibition Capacity (Escherichia coli ) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1995 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: (Drosophila melanogaster orl) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 2002 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage (Escherichia coli ) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1979 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Cytogenetic Analysis (hamster lng) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1979 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Sister Chromatid Exchange (hamster ipr) |
| RTECS®- Personal Communication from J 1982 | PHENANTHRENE | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage (rat lvr) |
references
| government/industry list/academic study | reference |
| EPA Clean Water Act - Priority Pollutants | |
| EPA PBTs - Waste Minimization Program (RCRA) | EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1998. Resource Conservatin and Recovery Act (RCRA) Waste Minimization Program - priority chemicals for elimination or reduction. |
| EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) | EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines. |
| Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens | IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures). |
| Scorecard.org Toxicity Information | National Toxicology Program. Chemical Repository of Health and Safety Data. http://ntp-db.niehs.nih.gov/NTP_Reports/NTP_Chem_H&S/NTP_Chem8/Radian[Insert CAS#].txt |
| Scorecard.org Toxicity Information | National Toxicology Program. Chemical Repository of Health and Safety Data. http://ntp-db.niehs.nih.gov/NTP_Reports/NTP_Chem_H&S/NTP_Chem8/Radian[Insert CAS#].txt |
| Environment Canada Domestic Substance List | EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry. |
| RTECS®- Biochemical Journal 1968 | RTECS®- Biochemical Journal. (Biochemical Soc. Book Depot, POB 32, Commerce Way, Colchester, Essex CO2 8HP, UK) V.1- 110,159,1968 |
| RTECS®- Biochemical Pharmacology 1971 | RTECS®- Biochemical Pharmacology. (Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, NY 10523) V.1- 20,1297,1971 |
| RTECS®- Developments in Toxicology and Environtal Science 1982 | RTECS®- Developments in Toxicology and Environtal Science. (Elsevier Science, New York, NY) V.1-15, 1977-87. Discontinued 10,277,1982 |
| RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis 2001 | RTECS®- Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. (Alan R. Liss, Inc., 41 E. 11th St., New York, NY 10003) V.10- 37,231,2001 |
| RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1973 | RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute. (Washington, DC) V.1-60, 1940-78. For publisher information, see JJIND8. 51,799,1973 |
| RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1974 | RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute. (Washington, DC) V.1-60, 1940-78. For publisher information, see JJIND8. 52,1167,1974 |
| RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1977 | RTECS®- Journal of the National Cancer Institute. (Washington, DC) V.1-60, 1940-78. For publisher information, see JJIND8. 58,1635,1977 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1986 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 174,247,1986 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1991 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 260,349,1991 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1995 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 341,235,1995 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 2002 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 515,85,2002 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1979 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 66,277,1979 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 1979 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 66,65,1979 |
| RTECS®- Personal Communication from J 1982 | RTECS®- Personal Communication from J.F. Sina, Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research, West Point, PA 19486, Oct. 26, 1982 26OCT1982 |
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