Vinyl Chloride Clean Water Act
Basic information on water quality criteria.
Vinyl chloride clean water act. Exposure to vinyl chloride is also subject to workplace safety standards for airborne concentrations. Current water quality criteria tables. The international national and state regulations and guidelines regarding vinyl chloride in air water and other media are summarized in table 8 1. The regulation for vinyl chloride became effective in 1989.
Its chemical formula is c2h3cl. Other studies have reported. The clean air act establishes standards for vinyl chloride emissions from production and manufacturing facilities and the epa has published a water quality criteria document for vinyl chloride under the clean water act. The clean water act requires epa to develop criteria for surface water quality that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge on the impacts of pollutants on human health and the environment.
Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula h 2 c chcl that is also called vinyl chloride monomer vcm or chloroethene this colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride pvc. The concentrations in groundwater were up to 0 008 ppm. An acute duration inhalation mrl of 0 5 ppm was derived for vinyl chloride based on a noael for developmental effects for mice john et al. Table 117 3 reportable quantities of hazardous substances designated pursuant to section 311 of the clean water act note.
It is primarily used to manufacture polyvinyl chloride pvc a very stable non flammable lightweight and durable plastic. In a 1982 survey vinyl chloride was found in fewer than 1 of the 945 groundwater supplies tested in the united states. Most drinking water supplies do not contain vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride has been used in the past as a refrigerant.
The first number under the column headed rq is the reportable quantity in pounds. The epa regulates vinyl chloride as a hazardous component of waste under the resource conservation and discovery act and has. You can be exposed to vinyl chloride by drinking water from contaminated wells. Epa has set a drinking water standard for vinyl chloride.
Vinyl chloride monomer vcm is a colorless flammable gas at room temperature. How will vinyl chloride be detected in and removed from my drinking water. Between 1993 and 1995 epa required your water supplier to collect water samples every 3 months for one year and analyze them to find out if vinyl chloride is present above 0 5 ppb. About 13 billion kilograms are produced annually.
Clean water act water quality criteria. Pvc is used in a variety of applications.