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EWG Statement, 03/10/2008

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NATIONAL SUMMARY

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Status: Unregulated - EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.

Aldicarb sulfoxide is a insecticide used on various crops. No information on potential health impacts for Aldicarb sulfoxide was identified in standard government and academic sources.

Sources of Aldicarb sulfoxide:

Agriculture (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Aldicarb sulfoxide tests reported by 15,285 public water suppliers in 38 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 78 thousand people in 13 communities drank water contaminated with Aldicarb sulfoxide. Aldicarb sulfoxide remains unregulated in tap water, without a maximum legal limit.

Exposure Summary

78,158 People drinking water contaminated with Aldicarb sulfoxide 13 Communities served water contaminated with Aldicarb sulfoxide

Table. Aldicarb sulfoxide Exposure by State

78 thousand Americans in 9 states were served tap water contaminated with Aldicarb sulfoxide between 1998 and 2003.

State	Water suppliers with Aldicarb sulfoxide contamination
	Systems	Population
Kentucky	2	41,345
Rhode Island	1	19,000
Arizona	2	11,316
North Carolina	1	4,250
South Carolina	1	1,350
Wyoming	1	375
Wisconsin	3	227
New York	1	220
Maine	1	75
Total	13	78,158

Table. The most polluted communities

78,000 Americans in 13 communities were served tap water contaminated with Aldicarb sulfoxide between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Aldicarb sulfoxide level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Piper Stream Mobile Home Park Fryeburg, ME	75	1 of 2	1 ppb (0 to 2 ppb)
2	Beaver Dam Mun Water / Sewer Sys Beaver Dam, KY	3,061	1 of 3	0.67 ppb (0 to 2 ppb)
3	Lincoln - Town of Lincoln, RI	19,000	1 of 3	0.67 ppb (0 to 2 ppb)
4	North End Water Users Powell, WY	375	1 of 1	0.62 ppb (0.62 to 0.62 ppb)
5	Glen Flora Glen Flora, WI	150	1 of 1	0.5 ppb (0.5 to 0.5 ppb)
6	Riverside Apts Burlington, WI	37	1 of 1	0.5 ppb (0.5 to 0.5 ppb)
7	Jensens Mobile Home Village Waterford, WI	40	1 of 1	0.5 ppb (0.5 to 0.5 ppb)
8	Marana Municipal-heart Ma Tucson, AZ	1,059	1 of 1	0.5 ppb (0.5 to 0.5 ppb)
9	College Acres Public Water Department Aiken, SC	1,350	1 of 2	0.25 ppb (0 to 0.5 ppb)
10	Nicholasville Water Department Nicholasville, KY	38,284	1 of 8	0.13 ppb (0 to 1 ppb)

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Health based limits for Aldicarb sulfoxide

Health Limit	Limit Value	Limit Description
Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure	10 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	10 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.
Drinking Water Equivalent Level	40 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 Aldicarb sulfoxide

Water suppliers report an average of 0.4 Aldicarb sulfoxide tests per year. 24,466 water suppliers failed to report any Aldicarb sulfoxide tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Aldicarb sulfoxide by federal law? No Water suppliers reporting tests for Aldicarb sulfoxide (1998-2003): 15,285 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.4 per year

Aldicarb sulfoxide Violations

Because Aldicarb sulfoxide is unregulated in tap water, no violations are recorded in EPA's violations database, the Safe Drinking Water Information System. Under the federal tap water law, water suppliers are not required to routinely test for Aldicarb sulfoxide, and any level is legal in tap water.