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Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality

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Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality Health Santé Canada Canada Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document Trihalomethanes Prepared by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Health and the Environment Health Canada Ottawa, Ontario May 2006 (with april 2009 addendum) This document supersedes previous guideline technical documents (formerly known as supporting documents) on trihalomethanes in drinking water. It may be cited as follows: Health Canada (2006) Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document — Trihalomethanes. Water Quality and Health Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The document was prepared by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Health and the Environment. Any questions or comments on this document may be directed to: Water Quality and Health Bureau Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch Health Canada 269 Laurier Avenue West, Address Locator 4903D Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0K9 Tel.: 613-948-2566 Fax: 613-952-2574 E-mail: [email protected] Other Guideline Technical Documents for the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality can be found on the Water Quality and Health Bureau web page at http://www.healthcanada.gc.ca/waterquality Table of Contents ADDENDUM ............................................................... vi 1.0 Guidelines .............................................................1 Trihalomethanes .........................................................1 Bromodichloromethane ...................................................1 Other Considerations .....................................................1 2.0 Executive summary ......................................................1 2.1 Health effects .....................................................2 2.2 Exposure ........................................................2 2.3 Treatment ........................................................3 3.0 Application of the guidelines ...............................................3 3.1 Monitoring .......................................................4 4.0 Identity, use and sources in the environment ...................................5 4.1 Formation of THMs during disinfection ................................5 5.0 Exposure ..............................................................6 5.1 Water ...........................................................6 5.2 Multi-route exposure through drinking water ............................7 5.3 Food and beverages ................................................8 5.4 Consumer products ................................................9 5.5 Swimming pools and hot tubs ........................................9 5.6 Estimates of total exposure to chloroform ...............................9 6.0 Analytical methods .....................................................10 7.0 Treatment technology ....................................................11 7.1 Municipal-scale ..................................................11 7.1.1 Removal of precursors prior to municipal disinfection ..............12 7.1.2 Alternative municipal disinfection strategies ......................12 7.2 Residential scale ..................................................13 7.2.1 Filtration devices ...........................................14 7.2.2 Alternative residential disinfection strategies .....................14 8.0 Kinetics and metabolism .................................................14 8.1 Absorption ......................................................14 8.1.1 Chloroform ................................................15 8.2 Distribution .....................................................15 8.2.1 Chloroform ................................................15 8.2.2 Brominated trihalomethanes ..................................15 Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document iii 8.3 Metabolism .....................................................15 8.3.1 Chloroform ................................................15 8.3.2 Brominated ...............................................16 8.3.3 Mixtures of THMs ..........................................17 8.4 Excretion .......................................................18 8.4.1 Chloroform ................................................18 8.4.2 Bromodichloromethane ......................................18 8.5 PBPK models....................................................18 8.5.1 Chloroform ................................................18 8.5.2 Bromodichloromethane ......................................20 9.0 Effects in humans.......................................................20 9.1 Cancer epidemiology .............................................20 9.2 Reproductive epidemiology .........................................22 10.0 Effects on experimental animals and in vitro .................................24 10.1 Acute toxicity ....................................................24 10.2 Subchronic toxicity ...............................................24 10.2.1 Trihalomethanes ...........................................24 10.2.2 Chloroform ...............................................25 10.2.3 Bromodichloromethane ......................................27 10.2.4 Dibromochloromethane ......................................28 10.2.5 Bromoform ................................................28 10.3 Genotoxicity .....................................................29 10.3.1 Trihalomethanes ............................................29 10.3.2 Chloroform ................................................29 10.3.3 Bromodichloromethane ......................................29 10.3.4 Dibromochloromethane ......................................29 10.3.5 Bromoform ................................................30 10.4 Chronic toxicity/carcinogenicity .....................................30 10.4.1 Chloroform ................................................30 10.4.2 Mechanism of carcinogenicity for chloroform ....................32 10.4.3 Bromodichloromethane ......................................35 10.4.4 Dibromochloromethane ......................................36 10.4.5 Bromoform ................................................37 10.5 Reproductive and developmental toxicity ..............................38 10.5.1 Trihalomethanes ............................................38 10.5.2 Chloroform ................................................38 10.5.3 Bromodichloromethane ......................................39 10.5.4 Dibromochloromethane ......................................40 10.5.5 Bromoform ................................................41 10.6 Neurotoxicity ....................................................41 Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document iv 11.0 Classification and assessment .............................................41 11.1 Trihalomethanes (chloroform) .......................................41 11.2 Bromodichloromethane ............................................43 11.3 Dibromochloromethane ............................................46 11.4 Bromoform ......................................................46 12.0 Rationale .............................................................46 12.1 Trihalomethanes (chloroform) ......................................47 12.2 Bromodichloromethane ............................................47 13.0 References ............................................................48 Appendix A: List of acronyms ...................................................61 Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document v April 2009 Guideline Technical Document on Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water – ADDENDUM The guideline technical document (GTD) for trihalomethanes (THMs), which was published in 2006, also includes a specific guideline for bromodichloromethane (BDCM). The maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) for THMs is based on the health effects of chloroform, and applies to the total concentration of chloroform, BDCM, dibromochloromethane and bromoform. Since the publication of the GTD, several new scientific papers have been published on the health effects of BDCM and of THMs. As these articles were considered to have a potential bearing on the existing guideline values, a panel of experts was convened in September 2008 to provide expert advice and to make recommendations to Health Canada and to the Federal- Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water (CDW) regarding BDCM in drinking water. Based on Health Canada’s re-assessment of the overall weight of scientific evidence and on the findings and recommendations of the Expert Panel1 on BDCM, the Federal-Provincial- Territorial CDW recommended rescinding the separate guideline for BDCM. The guideline for THMs is now considered sufficient on its own to protect for potential adverse health effects related to the exposure to BDCM in drinking water. The new information on BDCM will be added in the GTD for THMs during the next update of the document. Effective April 2009, the guideline statement for trihalomethanes in drinking water is modified to remove the separate guideline for BDCM, recognizing that the maximum acceptable concentration for THMs is protective of the health effects of all THMs, including BDCM. The revised Guideline statement reads as follows: Trihalomethanes The maximum acceptable concentration
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