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EWG Statement, 03/10/2008

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NATIONAL SUMMARY

Quality Varies Across the U.S.

CONTAMINANTS DATABASE

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

Propachlor is a herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds for corn, sorghum, soybeans, and other crops. Potential health impacts associated with Propachlor include cancer, developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, and skin sensitivity. [read more]

Sources of Propachlor:

Agriculture (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Propachlor tests reported by 16,345 public water suppliers in 38 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 457 thousand people in 14 communities drank water contaminated with Propachlor. Propachlor remains unregulated in tap water, without a maximum legal limit.

Exposure Summary

456,705 People drinking water contaminated with Propachlor 14 Communities served water contaminated with Propachlor

Table. Propachlor Exposure by State

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

State	Water suppliers with Propachlor contamination
	Systems	Population
California	1	436,245
Arizona	6	12,397
Missouri	3	7,740
Wisconsin	3	227
New Mexico	1	96
Total	14	456,705

Table. The most polluted communities

457,000 Americans in 14 communities were served tap water contaminated with Propachlor between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Propachlor level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Platte Co Pwsd #4 Platte City, MO	2,750	1 of 3	0.3 ppb (0 to 0.89 ppb)
2	City of Sacramento Sacramento, CA	436,245	1 of 22	0.23 ppb (0 to 5.1 ppb)
3	Why Utility Corp Why, AZ	480	1 of 7	0.13 ppb (0 to 0.9 ppb)
4	Riverside Apts Burlington, WI	37	1 of 1	0.1 ppb (0.1 to 0.1 ppb)
5	Jensens Mobile Home Village Waterford, WI	40	1 of 1	0.1 ppb (0.1 to 0.1 ppb)
6	Glen Flora Glen Flora, WI	150	1 of 1	0.1 ppb (0.1 to 0.1 ppb)
7	Marana Municipal-heart Ma Tucson, AZ	1,059	1 of 1	0.1 ppb (0.1 to 0.1 ppb)
8	Desert Ranch Water Company - Op Clovis, NM	96	1 of 12	0.09 ppb (0 to 1.13 ppb)
9	Wenden Water Improvement Wenden, AZ	300	1 of 1	0.09 ppb (0.09 to 0.09 ppb)
10	Appaloosa Meadows Subdivi Scottsdale, AZ	154	1 of 1	0.09 ppb (0.09 to 0.09 ppb)

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Health based limits for Propachlor

Health Limit	Limit Value	Limit Description
Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure	500 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	500 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	90 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.
Drinking Water Equivalent Level	500 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 Propachlor

Water suppliers report an average of 0.5 Propachlor tests per year. 23,406 water suppliers failed to report any Propachlor tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Propachlor by federal law? No Water suppliers reporting tests for Propachlor (1998-2003): 16,345 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.5 per year

Propachlor Violations

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