Comment-19836-Clean Water Actiobn

Clean Water Action, on behalf of its members throughout California, is pleased to support OEHHA's proposed public health goals (PHGs) of 0.2 parts per billion (ppb) for dichloroacetic acid, 0.1 ppb for trichloroacetic acid, and 0.03 ppb for dibromoacetic acid in order to correspond to a one in a million cancer risk in keeping with state policy. We also support the proposed PHGs for monochloracetic acid (53 ppb) and monobromoacetic acid (25 ppb, which are based on non-cancer effects. While the need to disinfect drinking water is essential in protecting public health, we believe that these health goals will allow California to effectively offset unintended health consequences from these disinfection by-products. We particularly applaud that concentrations of the by-products consider sensitive populations such as infants and children who consumer greater amounts of water by body weight and incur a greater cancer risk due to early exposures compared to adult exposures. OEHHA has thus taken a proper approach and we encourage them to finalize these PHGs with all expediency.