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EWG's Tap Water Database — 2021 UPDATE

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Benzene

Quarryville Borough

Benzene is a known human carcinogen. It also damages blood cells and the nervous system. Emissions from petroleum processing, hazardous waste landfills and underground storage tanks contaminate drinking water with benzene. Read More.

To protect against cancer risks, California set a public health goal for benzene in drinking water at 0.15 parts per billion, 30 times lower than the federal legal limit of 5 parts per billion.

Click here to read more about carcinogenic VOCs.

 

25

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2014ND40ND
2015ND40ND
2016ND40ND
2017ND50ND
2018ND40ND
2019ND40ND

ppb = parts per billion

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.15 ppb

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.15 ppb for benzene was defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal, the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. This health guideline protects against cancer.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) 5 ppb

The legal limit for benzene, established in 1987, was based on analytical detection limits at the time that the standard was set. This limit may not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to benzene exposure.

ppb = parts per billion

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2014-01-091066488001ND
2014-04-102001029001ND
2014-07-102017224001ND
2014-10-092033571001ND
2015-02-1912487556ND
2015-04-0912722172ND
2015-07-0913108329ND
2015-10-0813605076ND
2016-01-0713843207ND
2016-04-0714216701ND
2016-07-1414699906ND
2016-10-0615194368ND
2017-01-0915625162ND
2017-04-0616057680ND
2017-08-1016691248ND
2017-10-0616991883ND
2017-11-0917130631ND
2018-01-117121162-01ND
2018-04-098032882-01ND
2018-07-108062555-01ND
2018-10-118093465-01ND
2019-01-108123550-01ND
2019-04-119032840-01ND
2019-07-099063178-01ND
2019-10-109093307-01ND