Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Dichloromethane (methylene chloride)

Nas Whiting Field

Methylene chloride is a common industrial solvent used for paint stripping, vapor degreasing, printing, electronics manufacturing and cleaning. It causes cancer and liver damage in animal studies. Read More.

Surface and groundwater can be contaminated with methylene chloride from industrial releases and landfill leaching. The EPA considers methylene chloride likely carcinogenic to people. Long-term ingestion of drinking water with methylene chloride contamination can cause liver damage and cancer. Occupational exposure to methylene chloride and other solvents has been linked with increased risk of miscarriage. Birth defects have also been observed in studies of laboratory animals exposed to methylene chloride during pregnancy.

Click here to read more about carcinogenic VOCs.

 

180

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND360ND
2019ND320ND
2020ND330ND
2021ND270ND
2022ND220ND
2023ND300ND

ppb = parts per billion

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 4 ppb

The EWG Health Guideline of 4 ppb for dichloromethane (methylene chloride) 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 dichloromethane, established in 1992, was based on analytical detection limits at the time that the standard was set.

ppb = parts per billion

All test results

Date Result
2018-01-15ND
2018-01-15ND
2018-01-15ND
2018-02-06ND
2018-02-06ND
2018-02-06ND
2018-03-15ND
2018-03-15ND
2018-03-15ND
2018-04-11ND
2018-04-11ND
2018-04-11ND
2018-05-08ND
2018-05-08ND
2018-05-08ND
2018-06-18ND
2018-06-18ND
2018-06-18ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-08-08ND
2018-08-08ND
2018-08-08ND
2018-09-12ND
2018-09-12ND
2018-09-12ND
2018-10-18ND
2018-10-18ND
2018-10-18ND
2018-11-15ND
2018-11-15ND
2018-11-30ND
2018-12-12ND
2018-12-12ND
2018-12-12ND
2019-01-16ND
2019-01-16ND
2019-01-16ND
2019-02-13ND
2019-02-13ND
2019-02-13ND
2019-03-07ND
2019-03-07ND
2019-03-07ND
2019-04-17ND
2019-04-17ND
2019-05-09ND
2019-05-09ND
2019-06-12ND
2019-06-12ND
2019-07-17ND
2019-07-17ND
2019-08-14ND
2019-08-14ND
2019-08-14ND
2019-09-12ND
2019-09-12ND
2019-09-12ND
2019-10-10ND
2019-10-16ND
2019-10-16ND
2019-11-06ND
2019-11-06ND
2019-11-06ND
2019-12-05ND
2019-12-05ND
2019-12-05ND
2020-01-07ND
2020-01-07ND
2020-01-07ND
2020-02-19ND
2020-02-19ND
2020-02-19ND
2020-03-10ND
2020-03-10ND
2020-03-10ND
2020-04-07ND
2020-04-07ND
2020-04-07ND
2020-06-03ND
2020-06-03ND
2020-06-03ND
2020-07-14ND
2020-07-14ND
2020-07-14ND
2020-08-11ND
2020-08-11ND
2020-08-11ND
2020-09-02ND
2020-09-02ND
2020-09-02ND
2020-10-07ND
2020-10-07ND
2020-10-07ND
2020-11-03ND
2020-11-03ND
2020-11-03ND
2020-12-08ND
2020-12-08ND
2020-12-08ND
2021-01-06ND
2021-01-06ND
2021-01-06ND
2021-02-09ND
2021-02-09ND
2021-03-09ND
2021-03-09ND
2021-04-07ND
2021-04-07ND
2021-05-11ND
2021-05-11ND
2021-05-12ND
2021-05-12ND
2021-06-09ND
2021-06-09ND
2021-07-13ND
2021-08-10ND
2021-08-10ND
2021-09-14ND
2021-09-14ND
2021-09-15ND
2021-10-12ND
2021-10-12ND
2021-11-10ND
2021-11-10ND
2021-12-14ND
2021-12-14ND
2022-01-12ND
2022-01-12ND
2022-02-09ND
2022-02-09ND
2022-03-14ND
2022-03-14ND
2022-04-12ND
2022-04-12ND
2022-05-10ND
2022-05-10ND
2022-06-08ND
2022-06-08ND
2022-07-20ND
2022-07-20ND
2022-08-10ND
2022-08-10ND
2022-09-14ND
2022-09-14ND
2022-10-11ND
2022-10-11ND
2022-11-09ND
2022-11-09ND
2023-01-11ND
2023-01-11ND
2023-01-11ND
2023-04-11ND
2023-04-11ND
2023-04-11ND
2023-05-10ND
2023-05-10ND
2023-05-10ND
2023-06-07ND
2023-06-07ND
2023-06-07ND
2023-07-12ND
2023-07-12ND
2023-07-12ND
2023-08-09ND
2023-08-09ND
2023-08-09ND
2023-09-06ND
2023-09-06ND
2023-09-06ND
2023-10-04ND
2023-10-04ND
2023-10-04ND
2023-11-08ND
2023-11-08ND
2023-11-08ND
2023-12-06ND
2023-12-06ND
2023-12-06ND