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Defining a Safe Level for Copper in Drinking Water
Author(s) -
Pontius Frederick W.
Publication year - 1998
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.1551-8833.1998.tb08465.x
Subject(s) - copper , agency (philosophy) , environmental science , trace (psycholinguistics) , current (fluid) , trace element , environmental health , environmental chemistry , environmental planning , environmental protection , natural resource economics , engineering , chemistry , economics , sociology , medicine , philosophy , organic chemistry , electrical engineering , social science , linguistics
This article discusses how the scientific basis of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) drinking water regulation for copper has been questioned because of the economic burden it will impose on certain water systems. Topics discussed are: copper as an essential trace element for human nutrition; the susceptibility of children to copper toxicity; the basis of USEPA's maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG); and, the contradictory studies that criticize the current copper MCLG as being either too low or not low enough.