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Resource Type: Technical Guidance

  • Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds

    The presence of pharmaceuticals, personal care products and endocrine disrupting chemicals (PPCP/EDC) in water supplies has been known for many years, dating back to the 1980’s and before. Much of the original concerns were associated with reports of physiological abnormalities associated with fish and other aquatic organisms in areas near or surrounding discharge sites of…

  • Perchlorate Fact Sheet

    Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring as well as a man-made inorganic chemical. Perchlorate is an oxidizer used in the manufacturing of fireworks, explosives, and other pyrotechnics. In the United States, contamination of soil and water is found predominantly in areas where the manufacture, use, and storage of munitions and rocket propellants took place over…

  • Uranium Fact Sheet

    Uranium is a common naturally occurring and radioactive substance. It is a normal part of rocks, soil, air and water. Uranium occurs in nature in the form of minerals, but never as a metal. Uranium enters water by leaching from soil and rocks, or in releases from processing plants. Uranium has demonstrated toxic effects on human…

  • Taste & Odor Fact Sheet

    There are many causes and sources for taste and odor problems. The chemicals responsible for these problems in drinking water are mostly considered to contribute undesirable aesthetic effects, such as bad tastes, odors and off color or cloudiness. These contaminants and those covered under the USEPA National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations (NSDWRs) at the Secondary…

  • Silver Fact Sheet

    Biologically, silver is a nonessential, non-beneficial element to humans. There are no scientific studies to show adverse health due to its presence in drinking water from natural sources. However, because of its bactericidal abilities, silver is used as a water bacteriostat in carbon containing water filters. The silver is deposited onto the carbon granules to…

  • Selenium Fact Sheet

    Selenium is a metal found in natural deposits as ores containing other elements. The greatest use of selenium compounds is in electronic and photocopier components, but they are widely used in other products as well. Selenium releases to the environment have been primarily from copper smelting industries. The largest releases from 1987 to 1993 occurred…

  • Lead Fact Sheet

    Lead has a tendency to be complexed and precipitated by a large number of substances. When released to land, lead binds to soils and does not migrate to ground water. In water, it binds to sediments, and it does not accumulate in fish. This is why it is seldom found in ground waters or natural…

  • Arsenic Fact Sheet

    The presence of arsenic (As) in nature is due mainly to natural deposits of metalloids in the earth’s crust and usually in ancient rock formations. Arsenic enters ground water through erosion or from manmade sources such as wood preservative, petroleum production, semi-conductor manufacture or due to misuse of animal feed additives and arsenic-containing pesticides (e.g.…

  • Barium Fact Sheet

    Barium is a divalent cation and alkaline earth metal that can be found in naturally occurring mineral deposits. The most common ores are found in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, and Tennessee. In 2010, 670 thousand tons of barite, a natural barium sulfate ore, were mined in the US, most of it in…

  • Cadmium Fact Sheet

    Cadmium occurs naturally in zinc, in lead and copper ores, in coal and other fossil fuels, in shales and is released during volcanic action. These deposits can serve as sources to ground and surface waters, especially when in contact with low total dissolved solids (TDS) and acidic waters. Major industrial releases of cadmium are due…