Should Portland Water Bureau customers be worried about ecological and/or human health?
Water professionals have the technology today to detect more substances – at lower levels – than ever before. As analytical methods improve, many compounds such as those listed above are being found at extremely low levels, typically single-digit parts per trillion (ppt). Drinking water standards are typically set in the parts per billion range, which is 1000 times higher. In fact, just because a substance is detectable in drinking water does not mean the substance is harmful to humans. To date, research throughout the world has not demonstrated an impact on human health from the trace amounts of PPCPs found in drinking water. While these trace substances may be detected at very low levels in source waters, people regularly consume or expose themselves to products containing these substances in much higher concentrations through medicines, food and beverage and other sources. The level in which they are found in source waters is very small in comparison.
Related Questions
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