Contents: Drinking Water Prior to 1974; Overview of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) & the Nat. Drinking Water Program; The Original SDWA; The 1986 & 1996 SDWA Amendments; The History of Drinking Water Treatment; Protecting Drinking Water Sources; Compliance Trends for Community Water Systems; Waterborne Disease Outbreaks; The Cost of Safe Drinking Water; Issues Facing Small Systems; Success & Challenges Ahead; & References. Appendices: Glossary; Contaminants Regulated Under the 1962 Public Health Service Standards; Commonly Used Drinking Water Treatment Technologies; Legislation Related to the SDWA; Types of Underground Injection Wells; & Data from the Safe Drinking Water Info. System. Illus.

This volume describes the methods used in the surveillance of drinking water quality in the light of the special problems of small-community supplies, particularly in developing countries, and outlines the strategies necessary to ensure that surveillance is effective.

A comprehensive reference on state-of-the-art risk assessment methodologies for drinking water Risk Assessment for Chemicals in Drinking Water discusses the major steps and goals in risk assessments and suggests ways to improve the methodologies and accuracy, while consolidating up-to-date information on the current principles and practices in one authoritative reference. After an enlightening overview of risk assessment practices and regulatory guidelines, it: Includes descriptions of the use of variability analysis, exposure analysis, physiologically based pharmacokinetics, and modeling for both cancer and non-cancer endpoints Describes the practices of major organizations, including the U.S. EPA, Health Canada, World Health Organization, and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Includes complete chapters on risk assessment for essential nutrients, arsenic, chloroform, and perchlorate Explains how to address susceptible sub-populations, including the elderly and infants and children, in risk assessments Covers the potential of using genomic and proteomic screens Addresses recent advances, emerging issues, and future challenges With contributions and perspectives from leading scientists, this is the definitive resource for health and environmental scientists, toxicologists, risk assessors and managers, regulators, consultants, and other professionals responsible for the safety of drinking water.

The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine was established in 1988 as a mechanism for bringing the various stakeholders together to discuss environmental health issues in a neutral setting. The members of the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine come from academia, industry, and government. Their perspectives range widely and represent the diverse viewpoints of researchers, federal officials, and consumers. They meet, discuss environmental health issues that are of mutual interest, and bring others together to discuss these issues as well. For example, they regularly convene workshops to help facilitate discussion of a particular topic. The Rountable's fifth national workshop entitled From Source Water to Drinking Water: Ongoing and Emerging Challenges for Public Health continued the theme established by previous Roundtable workshops, looking at rebuilding the unity of health and the environment. This workshop summary captures the discussions and presentations by the speakers and participants, who identified the areas in which additional research was needed, the processes by which changes could occur, and the gaps in our knowledge.

Water is a molecular marvel. Its seemingly simple formula—H2O—dictates the properties that make water both essential for life and easily contaminated. Herein lies the paradox of water: we cannot live without it, but it is easily rendered “unsafe.” The Paradox of Water explores the intersection of the scientific, social, and policy implications around access to safe drinking water. Drinking water is the smallest fraction of water used by a nation. Yet, the quality of this fraction is what dictates whether a community is healthy, educated, and economically sustained. Bhawani Venkataraman argues that a deeper understanding of the chemical nature of water is crucial to appreciating the challenges around access to safe drinking water. Drawing on recent research and case studies from the US and abroad, this book offers students an understanding of: the processes and oversight needed to ensure the safety of drinking water the role of the precautionary principle in managing drinking water potential solutions for expanding sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water