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Surveying arsenic occurrence
Author(s) -
Frey Michelle M.,
Edwards Marc A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1997.tb08198.x
Subject(s) - arsenic , arsenic contamination of groundwater , groundwater , environmental science , maximum contaminant level , surface water , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , chemistry , geology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
Data from US arsenic occurrence surveys are used to estimate compliance violations given a range of possible arsenic standards. Three surveys of arsenic occurrence in US drinking water supplies were synthesized to estimate how possible arsenic standards would affect compliance. Detectable levels of arsenic (0.5 μg/L) were found in 73 percent of surface water sources and 58 percent of groundwater sources. For finished water, detectable arsenic occurred in 45 percent of surface water systems and 53 percent of groundwater systems. The authors' compliance projections for arsenic standards ranging from 2 to 20 μg/L agreed fairly well with initial estimates by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It was estimated that approximately 25 percent of all community water suppliers (11,550–11,890 systems) would violate an arsenic standard of 2 μg/L. Between 6 and 17 percent of systems (2,775–7,870) were projected to violate an arsenic standard of 5 μg/L, and 1–3 percent of systems (510–1,360) were estimated to violate an arsenic standard of 20 μg/L.