EWG INVESTIGATION

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EWG Statement, 03/10/2008

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WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER?

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NATIONAL SUMMARY

Quality Varies Across the U.S.

CONTAMINANTS DATABASE

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Credits

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

Dicamba is an herbicide for agriculture, rangeland, pasture, industry; it is used for corn, wheat and other crops. Potential health impacts associated with Dicamba include developmental toxicity and reproductive toxicity. [read more]

Sources of Dicamba:

Agriculture (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)

An Environmental Working Group analysis of Dicamba tests reported by 15,872 public water suppliers in 38 states shows that between 1998 and 2003, 341 thousand people in 48 communities drank water contaminated with Dicamba. Dicamba remains unregulated in tap water, without a maximum legal limit.

Exposure Summary

340,569 People drinking water contaminated with Dicamba 48 Communities served water contaminated with Dicamba

Table. Dicamba Exposure by State

341 thousand Americans in 11 states were served tap water contaminated with Dicamba between 1998 and 2003.

State	Water suppliers with Dicamba contamination
	Systems	Population
Illinois	18	112,659
North Carolina	10	96,967
Ohio	1	48,000
Wisconsin	4	29,798
Iowa	4	17,034
Washington	2	14,584
Arizona	2	11,316
New Mexico	2	6,550
California	3	3,525
Minnesota	1	70
Pennsylvania	1	66
Total	48	340,569

Table. The most polluted communities

341,000 Americans in 48 communities were served tap water contaminated with Dicamba between 1998 and 2003

Ranked by highest average Dicamba level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Papillon S / D Cary, NC	25	1 of 2	1.1 ppb (0 to 2.2 ppb)
2	Roseland Coop Well Blomkest, MN	70	1 of 11	1.09 ppb (0 to 12 ppb)
3	USMC Lejeune - Hadnot Point Camp Lejeune, NC	35,000	1 of 7	0.91 ppb (0 to 6.4 ppb)
4	Magnolia Spring - Southfork S / D Denver, NC	315	1 of 2	0.7 ppb (0 to 1.4 ppb)
5	Barto's Trailer Court Hughesville, PA	66	1 of 2	0.5 ppb (0 to 1 ppb)
6	Beneficial Water Pasco, WA	84	1 of 1	0.4 ppb (0.4 to 0.4 ppb)
7	Sunset Hills S / D Denver, NC	64	1 of 4	0.33 ppb (0 to 1.3 ppb)
8	Shipman Shipman, IL	690	2 of 2	0.32 ppb (0.25 to 0.39 ppb)
9	Oakwood Oakwood, IL	1,502	3 of 6	0.31 ppb (0 to 0.97 ppb)
10	Ashley Hills North S / D Garner, NC	430	1 of 4	0.25 ppb (0 to 1 ppb)

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Health based limits for Dicamba

Health Limit	Limit Value	Limit Description
Children's health-based limit for 1-day exposure	300 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	300 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	200 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	1000 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 Dicamba

Water suppliers report an average of 0.4 Dicamba tests per year. 23,879 water suppliers failed to report any Dicamba tests at all.

Are tests routinely required for Dicamba by federal law? No Water suppliers reporting tests for Dicamba (1998-2003): 15,872 of 39,751 Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (1998-2003): 0.4 per year

Dicamba Violations

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