Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Benzene

Shorewood Hills Waterworks

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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND20ND
2019ND40ND
2020ND20ND
2021ND20ND
2022ND20ND
20230.145 ppb21ND - 0.290 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 Lab ID Result
2018-11-19420369001ND
2018-11-19420372001ND
2019-11-18481795001ND
2019-11-18481819001ND
2019-12-09484891001ND
2019-12-09484892001ND
2020-11-16536139001ND
2020-11-16536137001ND
2021-11-16594754001ND
2021-11-16594760001ND
2022-11-21654126001ND
2022-11-21654127001ND
2023-12-08713887001ND
2023-12-087138830010.290 ppb