Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Benzene

China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station

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.

 

16

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018N/A00N/A
2019N/A00N/A
2020ND40ND
2021ND10ND
2022ND30ND
2023ND80ND

ppb = parts per billion

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

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
2020-11-30CA1510703_002_002-202011301301ND
2020-11-30CA1510703_004_004-202011301420ND
2020-11-30CA1510703_013_013-202011301346ND
2020-11-30CA1510703_017_017-202011301450ND
2021-06-15CA1510703_015_015-202106150945ND
2022-06-28CA1510703_043_043-202206280900ND
2022-09-05CA1510703_043_043-202209050939ND
2022-11-08CA1510703_043_043-202211080845ND
2023-01-24CA1510703_043_043-202301240755ND
2023-04-11CA1510703_043_043-202304110856ND
2023-11-07CA1510703_013_013-202311070824ND
2023-11-07CA1510703_002_002-202311070901ND
2023-11-07CA1510703_043_043-202311070917ND
2023-11-07CA1510703_004_004-202311070717ND
2023-11-07CA1510703_015_015-202311070807ND
2023-11-14CA1510703_017_017-202311140732ND