EPA Looking At “Emerging Contaminants”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently began an effort to obtain water samples from utilities to determine the presence of “emerging contaminants” in the presence of drinking water. These would be currently unregulated contaminants for which EPA could propose regulation, depending on the findings. Examples might include pharmaceuticals, hormones or fluorinated compounds that are used in non-stick cooking surfaces. As is indicated in EPA’s Federal Register Notice, EPA first requests OMB authorization to obtain tests and submit questionnaires to drinking water utilities. A sample of the seven page questionnaire EPA proposes can be found at the federal www.regulations.gov website, under EPA Docket # EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0114.