title: Development and implementation of surface water quality standards for protection of human health in Korea.
abstract: Current water quality standards for the protection of human health in Korea include 17 substances found in rivers and streams. Due to increasing concern over the release of hazardous chemicals into the aquatic environment, there has been a demand for additional water quality standards. Therefore, the Korean Ministry of the Environment plans to gradually increase the number of water quality standards to 30 substances, including 22 substances for protection of human health and 8 substances for protection of aquatic ecosystems by 2015. In this study, new water quality standards for protection of human health were established for 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, and hexachlorobenzene. We selected candidate hazardous chemicals, conducted a human health risk assessment to determine priority chemicals, established water quality standards based on technical analyses and comparison with domestic and developed countries' water quality standards, and conducted an expert review. Water quality standards for protection of aquatic ecosystems will be derived in the near future. This study describes how the water quality standards for protection of human health were developed and implemented. Current status, recent expansion, and future plans for water quality standards in Korea are also covered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea, anyjoo@konkuk.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Youn-Joo
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Sun-Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Myung Sook
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D058735:Environmental Policy; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D060753:Water Quality / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
references.citation: Environ Pollut. 1999;100(1-3):209-21
references.pmid: 15093119