April 22, 2002 -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Friday that it has completed a detailed review of 69 existing drinking water standards.
Based on that review, the agency is requesting comment on its preliminary decisions to revise the standard for total coliforms. Coliform bacteria are indicators of possible microbiological contamination, but do not necessarily make people sick.
The agency's revisions to the standard will be designed to better indicate potential risks to public health. EPA also examined standards for 68 chemical contaminants and determined that, at this stage, they should not be revised. However, the agency notes that new health assessments are currently underway for 36 of these contaminants.
The results of those studies will be considered as soon as they become available and the agency will decide whether revisions for these standards are warranted.
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA must periodically review existing standards and, if good science indicates there is a threat to public health, revise them. The current review addresses standards developed prior to 1997.
"We've conducted a thorough review of these existing drinking water standards for the first time in the agency's history. We welcome public comment on our analyses and will carefully consider those comments," said Cynthia Dougherty, Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
"We also recognize that there are a number of scientific assessments underway, and we will examine new data as they become available."
The public has the opportunity to comment on these preliminary decisions for the next 60 days. The agency will also hold a public meeting and consult with EPA's Science Advisory Board.
The results of the review were published in the Federal Register on April 17.
The list of standards is available in a fact sheet with additional information at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater, click on "What's New."
