Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Benzene

Town of Poolesville

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.

 

13

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
2019ND30ND
2020N/A00N/A
2021ND80ND
2022N/A00N/A
2023ND20ND

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
2019-07-02E20000017001ND
2019-07-02E20000017004ND
2019-07-02E20000017006ND
2021-01-21E21001857001ND
2021-01-21E21001857004ND
2021-04-06E21002753001ND
2021-04-06E21002753004ND
2021-07-13E22000119001ND
2021-08-05E22000416001ND
2021-08-05E22000416004ND
2021-10-05E2200028701ND
2023-04-18E2300236508ND
2023-04-18E2300236520ND