Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Benzene

Ferron - Castle Valley Special Service District

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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

5

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND50ND
20190.140 ppb51ND - 0.700 ppb
20200.180 ppb51ND - 0.900 ppb
20210.340 ppb52ND - 1.20 ppb
2022ND50ND
20230.174 ppb51ND - 0.870 ppb

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 Result
2018-02-20ND
2018-05-22ND
2018-08-22ND
2018-11-14ND
2018-12-12ND
2019-02-200.700 ppb
2019-05-21ND
2019-08-20ND
2019-08-20ND
2019-11-19ND
2020-02-19ND
2020-05-19ND
2020-08-18ND
2020-08-18ND
2020-11-170.900 ppb
2021-02-17ND
2021-05-261.20 ppb
2021-09-070.500 ppb
2021-09-15ND
2021-12-09ND
2022-02-22ND
2022-06-21ND
2022-08-24ND
2022-08-24ND
2022-11-29ND
2023-02-22ND
2023-06-21ND
2023-09-06ND
2023-09-060.870 ppb
2023-11-14ND