Public Health Goal for Arsenic in Drinking Water

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of the California Environmental Protection Agency announces the publication of the final Public Health Goal (PHG) for arsenic. The first draft document was posted on the OEHHA Web site in March 2003. A one-day public workshop was held in May 2003 to discuss the scientific basis and recommendations in the draft technical support document. OEHHA follows the requirements set forth in Health and Safety Code, Sections 57003(a) and 116365, for conducting the workshop and obtaining public input. Following the workshop, OEHHA revised the document as appropriate, and made it available for a 30-day public review and scientific comment period. OEHHA has considered the comments from the public at the workshop and during the public review and scientific comment periods, plus review comments from the University of California and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and finalized the document. This final document is posted on the OEHHA Web site, along with the responses to the major comments from the public at the workshop and during the public review and scientific comment periods.

The PHG technical support documents provide information on the health effects of contaminants in drinking water. The PHG is a level of drinking water contaminant at which adverse health effects are not expected to occur from a lifetime of exposure. The California Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996 (Health and Safety Code Section 116365), amended 1999, requires OEHHA to develop PHGs based exclusively on public health considerations. PHGs published by OEHHA will be considered by the California Department of Health Services in setting drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels, or MCLs).

If you would like to receive further information on this announcement or have questions, please contact our office at the address below:

Cal/EPA-OEHHA-PETB
Water Toxicology
P.O. Box 4010
Sacramento, CA 95812-4010
(916) 324-7572