How do federal regulatory agencies choose the standard for a chemical in drinking water?
Because rats and mice digest their food the same way humans do, toxic chemicals affect them in the same way humans are. Therefore, scientists at the National Toxicology Program of the federal government feed these animals a chemical in questions for a two-year period to determine its effects. From this information and using a safety factor, a drinking water standard based on reasonable risk is determined. For most potentially cancer-causing chemicals, reasonable risk is defined as follows: If 1 million people drank water for a period of 70 years with the amount of chemical in it equal to the standard, no more than one additional person would probably get cancer from the drinking water a very small risk.
Related Questions
- Is the recovery plan part of the Services’ other regulatory activities, such as section 7 consultations with Federal agencies?
- How do federal regulatory agencies determine the standard for a chemical in drinking water?
- How do federal regulatory agencies choose the standard for a chemical in drinking water?
