Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Benzene

City of Blackfoot

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.

 

15

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
2019ND70ND
2020N/A00N/A
2021N/A00N/A
2022ND80ND
2023N/A00N/A

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
2019-10-14VI91012701ND
2019-10-14VI91012702ND
2019-10-14VI91012703ND
2019-10-14VI91012704ND
2019-10-14VI91012705ND
2019-10-14VI91012706ND
2019-10-14VI91012707ND
2022-12-14VI21211801ND
2022-12-14VI21211802ND
2022-12-14VI21211803ND
2022-12-14VI21211804ND
2022-12-14VI21211805ND
2022-12-14VI21211806ND
2022-12-14VI21211807ND
2022-12-14VI21211808ND