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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.

Dichlorodifluoromethane (Freon 12) is a refrigerant banned under the Montreal Protocol as of 2000 because of its ozone-depleting properties. Potential health impacts associated with Dichlorodifluoromethane include cardiovascular or blood toxicity, gastrointestinal or liver toxicity, neurotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, and skin sensitivity.

Sources of Dichlorodifluoromethane:

Industry

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Dichlorodifluoromethane tests reported by 20,834 public water suppliers in 34 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 6.8 million people in 109 communities drank water contaminated with Dichlorodifluoromethane. Dichlorodifluoromethane remains unregulated in tap water, without a maximum legal limit.

Exposure Summary

6,809,656 People drinking water contaminated with Dichlorodifluoromethane 109 Communities served water contaminated with Dichlorodifluoromethane

Table. Dichlorodifluoromethane Exposure by State

6.8 million Americans in 23 states were served tap water contaminated with Dichlorodifluoromethane between 1998 and 2003.

State	Water suppliers with Dichlorodifluoromethane contamination
	Systems	Population
California	16	6,003,331
New Jersey	3	246,983
Delaware	1	200,000
Florida	1	162,750
Minnesota	4	64,003
Montana	2	57,028
Alabama	6	46,572
Pennsylvania	2	12,860
North Carolina	33	7,033
Alaska	18	5,503
New Hampshire	3	673
South Carolina	4	619
Missouri	1	611
Iowa	1	421
Nebraska	1	270
Maine	3	267
Utah	1	190
Michigan	2	125
Wisconsin	2	118
Colorado	2	110
New York	1	90
Ohio	1	74
Nevada	1	25
Total	109	6,809,656

Table. The most polluted communities

6.8 million Americans in 109 communities were served tap water contaminated with Dichlorodifluoromethane between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Dichlorodifluoromethane level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Junction Junction, UT	190	1 of 3	33.33 ppb (0 to 100 ppb)
2	San Joaquin County - Wilkinson Manor Stockton, CA	670	16 of 22	12.26 ppb (0 to 42.4 ppb)
3	Dalewood - Monteray Water System Denver, NC	142	1 of 2	7.85 ppb (0 to 15.7 ppb)
4	Acacia Grove Mobile Home Park Sonoma, CA	125	1 of 2	6.85 ppb (0 to 13.7 ppb)
5	Ykhc Hospital - Bethel Bethel, AK	510	3 of 4	5.13 ppb (0 to 14 ppb)
6	Cwsc Los Altos Suburban San Jose, CA	57,520	8 of 78	3.88 ppb (0 to 160 ppb)
7	Toksook Bay Water System Toksook Bay, AK	499	2 of 4	3.39 ppb (0 to 9.51 ppb)
8	Sunny Gables - Glenburn Housing Fort Fairfield, ME	74	1 of 1	3.3 ppb (3.3 to 3.3 ppb)
9	La Puente Valley Cwd La Puente, CA	7,500	9 of 12	3.15 ppb (0 to 8.8 ppb)
10	Cws - North Garden San Jose, CA	20,237	9 of 52	3.13 ppb (0 to 54.4 ppb)

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Health based limits for Dichlorodifluoromethane

Health Limit	Limit Value	Limit Description
Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure	40000 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	40000 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	1000 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 Dichlorodifluoromethane

Water suppliers report an average of 0.7 Dichlorodifluoromethane tests per year. 18,917 water suppliers failed to report any Dichlorodifluoromethane tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Dichlorodifluoromethane by federal law? No Water suppliers reporting tests for Dichlorodifluoromethane (1998-2003): 20,834 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.7 per year

Dichlorodifluoromethane Violations

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