Environmental▼News New Jersey proposes toughest arsenic standard worldwide The state of New Jersey has proposed an arsenic standard for drinking water that, if adopted, would be twice as stringent as the U.S. EPA standard and World Health Organization guideline of 10 parts per billion (ppb). The 5-ppb standard is based on recommendations from the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute (NJDWQI), which found that a 10-ppb level wouldn’t meet the level of protection required by state law. If the state legislature adopts the governor’s proposal, which was issued in January, New Jersey’s standard would take effect in 2006, the same year as EPA’s 10-ppb standard. EPA has classified arsenic as a human carcinogen. However, federal regulators must consider implementation costs incurred by all 50 states when setting their standard, which New Jersey’s drinking water law
doesn’t permit. For example, it is far more expensive to reduce arsenic levels in states such as New Mexico than in New Jersey, explained Bradley Campbell, commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in a policy directive. Environmentalists and water purveyors, both of which are represented on NJDWQI committees, say they support the New Jersey standard. Many in the state say that once the comment period ends, the standard will be easily approved by the legislature. The regulation affects an estimated 6% of public community water systems and 11% of non-community water systems, which combined serve roughly 85% of the state’s population, according to Fred Mumford, a DEP spokesperson. Most of these systems are located in the state’s
northern Piedmont region, where arsenic is known to occur naturally and is typically detected in the 5- to 20-ppb range in groundwater. Additionally, the new law requires that private well owners notify consumers of arsenic concentrations during real estate transactions and when renting property. DEP, together with the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology, has identified four technologies capable of removing arsenic from drinking water to 5-ppb levels. They include ion exchange, granular ferric adsorption, alumina adsorption, and coagulation/filtration, Mumford says. So far, California is the only other state actively pursuing an arsenic standard below EPA’s 10 ppb, says David Pringle, a campaign director for the New Jersey chapter of Clean Water Action, an environmental group. He predicts, however, that others will follow New Jersey’s lead. —KRIS CHRISTEN
MARCH 15, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ■ 105A
