Menu

EWG's Tap Water Database — 2021 UPDATE

Donate

Dichloromethane (methylene chloride)

City of Palm Bay

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.

MORE ABOUT THIS CONTAMINANT

 

77

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2014ND120ND
2015ND120ND
2016ND120ND
2017ND150ND
2018ND120ND
2019ND140ND

ppb = parts per billion

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

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
2014-01-07ND
2014-02-04ND
2014-03-04ND
2014-03-04ND
2014-03-04ND
2014-03-04ND
2014-04-01ND
2014-04-01ND
2014-05-06ND
2014-06-03ND
2014-07-01ND
2014-08-05ND
2015-01-06ND
2015-02-03ND
2015-03-03ND
2015-04-07ND
2015-05-05ND
2015-06-02ND
2015-07-07ND
2015-08-04ND
2015-09-01ND
2015-10-06ND
2015-11-03ND
2015-12-01ND
2016-01-08ND
2016-02-02ND
2016-03-01ND
2016-04-05ND
2016-05-03ND
2016-06-07ND
2016-07-05ND
2016-08-02ND
2016-09-06ND
2016-10-04ND
2016-11-08ND
2016-12-06ND
2017-01-03ND
2017-02-07ND
2017-03-07ND
2017-03-07ND
2017-03-07ND
2017-03-07ND
2017-04-04ND
2017-05-09ND
2017-06-06ND
2017-07-12ND
2017-08-01ND
2017-09-05ND
2017-10-03ND
2017-11-07ND
2017-12-05ND
2018-01-09ND
2018-02-06ND
2018-03-06ND
2018-04-03ND
2018-05-01ND
2018-06-05ND
2018-07-03ND
2018-08-07ND
2018-09-04ND
2018-10-02ND
2018-11-06ND
2018-12-04ND
2019-01-08ND
2019-02-05ND
2019-03-05ND
2019-04-02ND
2019-06-04ND
2019-07-02ND
2019-08-06ND
2019-09-10ND
2019-10-01ND
2019-10-01ND
2019-10-01ND
2019-11-19ND
2019-11-19ND
2019-12-03ND