EWG INVESTIGATION

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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.

Bromacil is a general use herbicide, used for brush control and perennial grasses, and for pineapple and citrus crops. Potential health impacts associated with Bromacil include cancer and endocrine toxicity.

Sources of Bromacil:

Agriculture (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Bromacil tests reported by 2,555 public water suppliers in 4 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 3,812 people in 9 communities drank water contaminated with Bromacil. Bromacil remains unregulated in tap water, without a maximum legal limit.

Exposure Summary

3,812 People drinking water contaminated with Bromacil 9 Communities served water contaminated with Bromacil

Table. Bromacil Exposure by State

3,812 Americans in 1 states were served tap water contaminated with Bromacil between 1998 and 2003.

State	Water suppliers with Bromacil contamination
	Systems	Population
Texas	9	3,812
Total	9	3,812

Table. The most polluted communities

3,812 Americans in 9 communities were served tap water contaminated with Bromacil between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Bromacil level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Country Squire Mhp 1 Lubbock, TX	60	5 of 6	2.27 ppb (0 to 3.48 ppb)
2	Fort Jackson Mobile Estates Lubbock, TX	70	3 of 5	0.64 ppb (0 to 1.7 ppb)
3	Williams Trailer Court Odessa, TX	50	1 of 3	0.25 ppb (0 to 0.75 ppb)
4	Huber Garden Estates Odessa, TX	75	2 of 5	0.24 ppb (0 to 1.02 ppb)
5	Stahl 1 LUBBOCK, TX	42	1 of 3	0.09 ppb (0 to 0.28 ppb)
6	Colorado River Mwd Snyder Well Field BIG SPRING, TX	2,500	2 of 5	0.08 ppb (0 to 0.23 ppb)
7	Baylor Water Supply Commission Seymour, TX	940	1 of 3	0.06 ppb (0 to 0.18 ppb)
8	Canyon Dam Mobile Home Park Odessa, TX	50	1 of 3	0.04 ppb (0 to 0.11 ppb)
9	Dallas County Park Cities Mud DALLAS, TX	25	1 of 8	0.03 ppb (0 to 0.21 ppb)

Health based limits for Bromacil

Health Limit	Limit Value	Limit Description
Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure	5000 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	5000 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	5000 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 Bromacil

Water suppliers report an average of 0.7 Bromacil tests per year. 37,196 water suppliers failed to report any Bromacil tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Bromacil by federal law? No Water suppliers reporting tests for Bromacil (1998-2003): 2,555 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.7 per year

Bromacil Violations

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