Alabama Water Quality Information System

— Choose a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) —


	1.-		Are the health risks from eating mercury contaminated seafood overstated?


	2.-		Are the tests for environmental effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on aquatic organisms adequate?


	3.-		Does EPA have a program to deal with security threats to public drinking water from special contaminants of concern?


	4.-		How many United States drinking water utilities were immediately impacted by the 10 ppb arsenic standard that went into effect in January of 2006?


	5.-		Is exposure to the chemical element of boron in drinking water a health risk and is there a federal drinking water standard for this element?


	6.-		What are the risks of swimming in polluted water?


	7.-		What is being done to reduce the potential terrorist threat to U.S. public water systems?


	8.-		What is creative expression and what does it have to do with water quality?


	9.-		What is known about the transport, fate and potential ecological effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in biosolids once they have been land-applied?


	10.-		What is meant by the chemical dose-response relationship?


	11.-		What is meant by the Lowest-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level (LOAEL) for a drinking water contaminant?


	12.-		What is the overall scientific concern for environmental contamination with pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)?


	13.-		Why is it that the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for a toxic chemical in public drinking water is sometimes set at a lower level than a reference dose (RfD) known to have high significance for some health risk at a lower level?

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This website was developed by the ACES Water Quality Team, under the leadership of Dr. James E. Hairston. It is funded, in part, by USDA-CSREES water quality grant support under Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.