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An Assessment of Current Standards for Selenium in Drinking Water
Author(s) -
Hammer Mark J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1981.tb03481.x
Subject(s) - selenium , interim , selenate , human health , environmental science , population , environmental chemistry , agency (philosophy) , environmental health , groundwater , soil water , hazard , environmental protection , chemistry , ecology , biology , geology , soil science , medicine , political science , law , organic chemistry , philosophy , geotechnical engineering , epistemology
Selenium is a trace metal naturally occurring in soils derived from some sedimentary rocks. Upon oxidation to the selenate ion, it can percolate to ground water and be assimilated by plants. Effects upon human health have not been clearly established—a low selenium diet is beneficial, while high doses can produce undesirable physical manifestations. Neither extreme dietary deficiency nor toxicity is apparent in the human population of the United States. The maximum contaminant level of 10 μg/1 adopted in the National Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations is not justified by recent studies and should not be enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency without new scientific evidence demonstrating that naturally occurring selenium is a health hazard.0