EWG INVESTIGATION
Findings
About The Data
News Release
EWG Statement, 03/10/2008
Related News Clips
WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER?
Find Your Water Company
NATIONAL SUMMARY
Quality Varies Across the U.S.
CONTAMINANTS DATABASE
Find a Contaminant
Credits
Sign up to receive email updates from EWG
|
|
 | Tap Water Quality Report The State of North Carolina2,606 Water SystemsServing 6,615,436 People |
An Environmental Working Group analysis of tap water tests from
1998 through 2003 for 2,606 communities across
North Carolina shows 107 pollutants were found in drinking water across the state.
Pollution Summary
| 107 | Total Contaminants Detected (1998 - 2003) | | 34 | Agricultural Pollutants
(pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)Nitrate, Nitrite, Sulfate, Thallium (total), Endrin, Lindane, Toxaphene, Carbaryl, Dalapon, Oxamyl (Vydate), Simazine, Picloram, Dinoseb, Aldicarb sulfoxide, Aldicarb sulfone, Metolachlor, Aldicarb, Atrazine, Alachlor (Lasso), Heptachlor, 3-Hydroxycarbofuran, Heptachlor epoxide, Dieldrin, 2,4-D, 2,4,5-TP (Silvex), Bromomethane, Aldrin, 1,3-Dichloropropene, Dicamba, 1,2 Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), Ethylene dibromide (EDB), Chlordane, m-Dichlorobenzene, Ethylbenzene | | 17 | Sprawl and Urban Pollutants
(road runoff, lawn pesticides, human waste)Arsenic (total), Cadmium (total), Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate, Nitrite, Antimony (total), Lindane, Trichlorofluoromethane, Naphthalene, Benzo[a]pyrene, tert-Butylbenzene, sec-Butylbenzene, Xylenes (total), Tetrachloroethylene, Benzene, Bromobenzene, n-Propylbenzene | | 73 | Industrial Pollutants Bromide, Arsenic (total), Barium (total), Cadmium (total), Chromium (total), Cyanide, Manganese, Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate, Nitrite, Selenium (total), Sulfate, Antimony (total), Beryllium (total), Thallium (total), Lindane, p-Isopropyltoluene, Di(2-Ethylhexyl) adipate, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, Chloromethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Bromomethane, Chloroethane, Trichlorofluoromethane, Naphthalene, Pentachlorophenol, 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene, cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene, 1,1-Dichloropropene, 1,3-Dichloropropane, 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, 2,2-Dichloropropane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene, n-Butylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, tert-Butylbenzene, sec-Butylbenzene, Bromochloromethane, Ethylene dibromide (EDB), Xylenes (total), Dichloromethane (methylene chloride), o-Chlorotoluene, p-Chlorotoluene, m-Dichlorobenzene, o-Dichlorobenzene, p-Dichlorobenzene, Vinyl chloride, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, Carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-Dichloropropane, Trichloroethylene, 1,1,2-Trichloroethane, 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane, Tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane, Monochlorobenzene (Chlorobenzene), Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Bromobenzene, Isopropylbenzene, Styrene, n-Propylbenzene, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Radium-226, Radium-228, Combined Uranium (pCi/L), Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L) | | 15 | Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts
(pipes and fixtures, treatment chemicals and byproducts) Bromate, Cadmium (total), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Chloromethane, Benzo[a]pyrene, Dibromomethane, Bromochloromethane, Total haloacetic acids, Chloroform, Bromoform, Bromodichloromethane, Dibromochloromethane, Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), m-Dichlorobenzene, Vinyl chloride | | 15 | Naturally Occurring
(naturally present but increased for lands denuded by sprawl, agriculture, or industrial development)Bromide, Arsenic (total), Chromium (total), Manganese, Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate, Nitrite, Selenium (total), Sulfate, Chloromethane, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Radium-226, Radium-228, Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L), Combined Uranium (pCi/L) | | 39 | Unregulated Contaminants
EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for these contaminantsBromide, Carbaryl, p-Isopropyltoluene, Aldicarb sulfoxide, Aldicarb sulfone, Metolachlor, Aldicarb, 3-Hydroxycarbofuran, Dieldrin, Chloromethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Bromomethane, Chloroethane, Trichlorofluoromethane, Naphthalene, Aldrin, Dibromomethane, 1,1-Dichloropropene, 1,3-Dichloropropane, 1,3-Dichloropropene, 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, 2,2-Dichloropropane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene, n-Butylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, tert-Butylbenzene, sec-Butylbenzene, Bromochloromethane, Dicamba, o-Chlorotoluene, p-Chlorotoluene, m-Dichlorobenzene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane, 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane, Bromobenzene, Isopropylbenzene, n-Propylbenzene |
107 | 56 |
| | 34 | 18 |
| | 17 | 10 |
| | 73 | 37 |
| | 15 | 11 |
| | 15 | 13 |
|  | | Total pollutants | Agricultural pollutants | Sprawl and Urban pollutants | Industrial pollutants | Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts | Naturally occurring pollutants | | Number of pollutants detected (1998 - 2003) |  Over health based limits |
NOTE: Health based limits included in this analysis include enforceable drinking
water limits (called Maximum Contaminant Limits, or MCLs) as well as
governmental, non-enforceable health guidelines, such as Maximum Contaminant
Limit Goals (MCLGs), lifetime health advisory levels, one-day and ten-day
advisory levels to protect children from non-cancer health endpoints, and
other government-established health guidelines for tap water contaminants.
Health Summary
The federal government has set standards for 80 chemical pollutants in tap water, balancing health concerns and treatment costs.
Contaminants found in state tap water (1998-2003): 107
Total population exposed above health-based limits: 6,179,490
Communities served water with contaminants above health-based limits: 1,312
Health effects or target organs of contaminants found: Cardiovascular or Blood Toxicity, Cancer, Developmental Toxicity, Endocrine Toxicity, Immunotoxicity, Kidney Toxicity, Gastrointestinal or Liver Toxicity, Neurotoxicity, Reproductive Toxicity, Respiratory Toxicity, and Skin Sensitivity.
[View Details]
Contaminants found above health based limits: 56| Rank | Contaminant Name | Population Exposed (of 6,615,436 Total) | Number of Water Systems (of 2,606) Total |
|---|
| At Any Level | Above Health Limits
See Note | With Detected | Above Health Limits
See Note |
|---|
| 1 | Nitrate | 5,240,569 | 1,378 | 1786 | 10 | | Chemical that enters water from fertilizer runoff, leaching septic tanks, and erosion of natural deposits | | 2 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) | 6,395,581 | 5,814,678 | 1697 | 846 | | Measure of four disinfection by-products | | 3 | Sulfate | 5,472,035 | 0 | 1147 | 0 | | Substance from natural deposits, industrial processes, and agriculture | | 4 | Chloroform | 5,563,008 | 4,704,554 | 802 | 258 | | Disinfection by-product | | 5 | Manganese | 3,650,513 | 154,358 | 729 | 210 | | element from natural deposits as well as industrial use | | 6 | Barium (total) | 4,565,359 | 177 | 692 | 2 | | Mineral from drilling and mining waste runoff; erosion of natrual deposits | | 7 | Bromodichloromethane | 5,388,885 | 5,039,071 | 570 | 373 | | Disinfection by-product | | 8 | Dibromochloromethane | 4,989,240 | 3,980,260 | 517 | 297 | | Disinfection by-product | | 9 | Bromoform | 2,243,061 | 68,987 | 226 | 23 | | Disinfection by-product | | 10 | Total haloacetic acids | 4,614,088 | 3,344,808 | 145 | 107 | | Measure of disinfection by-products; refers to the sum of the concentrations of dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monochloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid and dibromoacetic acid in a water sample. |
View Full Table NOTE: Health based limits included in this analysis include enforceable drinking
water limits (called Maximum Contaminant Limits, or MCLs) as well as
governmental, non-enforceable health guidelines, such as Maximum Contaminant
Limit Goals (MCLGs), lifetime health advisory levels, one-day and ten-day
advisory levels to protect children from non-cancer health endpoints, and
other government-established health guidelines for tap water contaminants.
Testing Summary
The federal government has set standards for some of the pollutants found in tap water supplies.
|
Contaminants reported as tested by water suppliers in North Carolina | 119 |
| | Contaminants tested due to federal law:
| 75 |
| | Contaminants tested in addition to those required by federal law:
| 44 |
[View Details]
Violations Summary
According to EPA, in 2003 6% of America's public water systems reported one or more violations of a health-based drinking water standard, and 26% reported significant violations of either monitoring and reporting requirements or health-based standards.
Reported violations (1998 - 2003): 12,446
Number of NC systems with violations:
2,134 (81.9%)
[View Details]
Information on violations is drawn directly from EPA's national violations
database in the Agency's Safe Drinking Water Information System. Analyses
by others have raised questions about the quality of the information in
EPA's database. For the purposes of this investigation, EWG is not showing
below or including in our analyses, those violations for individual water
suppliers that occurred on days for which the total number of violations
assigned by EPA to that water supplier was greater than 20. This criteria
was based on common characteristics of incorrect violations data as
identified by water utilities, from a review of EPA's violations data by
several hundred utilities prior to the release of EWG's investigation.
|
