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EWG's Tap Water Database — 2021 UPDATE

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Dichloromethane (methylene chloride)

Paw Penn District

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

 

56

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2014ND110ND
2015ND80ND
2016ND90ND
2017ND100ND
2018ND80ND
2019ND100ND

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 Lab ID Result
2014-01-0824408301ND
2014-01-0824408001ND
2014-01-0824410701ND
2014-01-0824410601ND
2014-01-0824409501ND
2014-01-0824410501ND
2014-01-0824410201ND
2014-01-0824410401ND
2014-04-0125339001ND
2014-07-0726114501ND
2014-10-0127103201ND
2015-01-0212315845ND
2015-01-0212315887ND
2015-01-0212315866ND
2015-01-0212315824ND
2015-01-0212315803ND
2015-04-0312660731ND
2015-07-0913043469ND
2015-10-0113419772ND
2016-01-0613783282ND
2016-01-0613783261ND
2016-01-0613783240ND
2016-01-0613783198ND
2016-01-0613783219ND
2016-04-0414139332ND
2016-04-1814139354ND
2016-07-1314610389ND
2016-10-0315112459ND
2017-01-0415551722ND
2017-01-0415551743ND
2017-01-0415551701ND
2017-01-0415551764ND
2017-01-0415551669ND
2017-01-0415551785ND
2017-01-0415551648ND
2017-04-0515975967ND
2017-07-0616450382ND
2017-10-1116915036ND
2018-01-1138161501ND
2018-01-1138161401ND
2018-01-1138161301ND
2018-01-1138161201ND
2018-01-1138161101ND
2018-04-1139072601ND
2018-07-1640207301ND
2018-10-1741961701ND
2019-01-0942499301ND
2019-01-0942499401ND
2019-01-0942499501ND
2019-01-0942499201ND
2019-01-0942499601ND
2019-04-0143658101ND
2019-07-0845016101ND
2019-07-1545716201ND
2019-10-0746831501ND
2019-10-3143999801ND