Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Benzene

Jordanelle 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.

 

37

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND50ND
2019ND60ND
2020ND50ND
2021ND70ND
2022ND60ND
2023ND80ND

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
2018-01-10ND
2018-04-09ND
2018-07-03ND
2018-07-18ND
2018-10-16ND
2019-01-08ND
2019-04-23ND
2019-06-27ND
2019-06-27ND
2019-07-29ND
2019-10-16ND
2020-01-13ND
2020-04-15ND
2020-07-29ND
2020-08-03ND
2020-10-20ND
2021-01-11ND
2021-01-19ND
2021-04-12ND
2021-06-29ND
2021-07-13ND
2021-09-20ND
2021-10-19ND
2022-01-11ND
2022-04-06ND
2022-07-14ND
2022-07-14ND
2022-07-19ND
2022-10-05ND
2023-01-18ND
2023-04-06ND
2023-05-24ND
2023-05-24ND
2023-06-05ND
2023-07-17ND
2023-08-10ND
2023-10-24ND