title: Drinking water standards for radionuclides: the dilemma and a possible resolution.
abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is undertaking a revision of existing standards for radionuclides in drinking water. The Safe Drinking Water Act specifies that any revision "shall maintain or provide for greater protection of the health of persons." This provision appears to require that existing standards (maximum contaminant levels, MCLs) cannot be relaxed. Such a requirement presents a dilemma for two reasons. First, EPA has shown that the MCL for radium was not cost-effective. Second, MCLs for beta/gamma-emitting radionuclides incorporate outdated approaches to estimating dose from ingestion of radionuclides and, thus, appear to violate provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act concerning the use of sound science in setting standards. We suggest that this dilemma can be resolved based on an argument that the standard for protection of public health mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act is one of applying best-available technology for removal of contaminants from drinking water at a reasonable cost, not one of meeting previously established MCLs.
authors.affiliation: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37830-6480, USA. dck@ornl.gov
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Kocher
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000592:standards*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive