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EWG Statement, 03/10/2008

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

Aldicarb is a insecticide used on various crops. Potential health impacts associated with Aldicarb include endocrine toxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity.

Sources of Aldicarb:

Agriculture (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Aldicarb tests reported by 14,848 public water suppliers in 38 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 15 thousand people in 7 communities drank water contaminated with Aldicarb. Aldicarb remains unregulated in tap water, without a maximum legal limit.

Exposure Summary

15,093 People drinking water contaminated with Aldicarb 7 Communities served water contaminated with Aldicarb

Table. Aldicarb Exposure by State

15 thousand Americans in 5 states were served tap water contaminated with Aldicarb between 1998 and 2003.

State	Water suppliers with Aldicarb contamination
	Systems	Population
Arizona	3	11,666
Kentucky	1	3,061
New York	1	220
Maine	1	75
North Carolina	1	71
Total	7	15,093

Table. The most polluted communities

15,000 Americans in 7 communities were served tap water contaminated with Aldicarb between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Aldicarb level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	El Prado Water Company Yuma, AZ	350	1 of 1	2 ppb (2 to 2 ppb)
2	Piper Stream Mobile Home Park Fryeburg, ME	75	1 of 2	1 ppb (0 to 2 ppb)
3	Beaver Dam Mun Water / Sewer Sys Beaver Dam, KY	3,061	1 of 3	0.67 ppb (0 to 2 ppb)
4	Marana Municipal-heart Ma Tucson, AZ	1,059	1 of 1	0.5 ppb (0.5 to 0.5 ppb)
5	Wiggins Tp Gastonia, NC	71	1 of 2	0.3 ppb (0 to 0.6 ppb)
6	Rio Rico Utilities, Inc. Rio Rico, AZ	10,257	1 of 9	0.06 ppb (0 to 0.5 ppb)
7	Unionville Water District Potsdam, NY	220	1 of 1	0.02 ppb (0.02 to 0.02 ppb)

Health based limits for Aldicarb

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

Water suppliers report an average of 0.4 Aldicarb tests per year. 24,903 water suppliers failed to report any Aldicarb tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Aldicarb by federal law? No Water suppliers reporting tests for Aldicarb (1998-2003): 14,848 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.4 per year

Aldicarb Violations

Because Aldicarb 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, and any level is legal in tap water.