Test Water For Vinyl Chloride

This standard is established to reduce the chance of adverse health effects from drinking contaminated water.

Test water for vinyl chloride. This warning has to occur within 30 days of the discovery and the water supplier must take steps to correct the problem immediately. Vinyl chloride has been detected only occasionally in samples of drinking water from 100 cities in germany. The occupational safety and health administration osha has set a limit of 1 part vinyl chloride per 1 million parts of air 1 ppm in the workplace. This standard is established to reduce the chance of adverse health effects from drinking contaminated water.

Vinyl chloride is regulated in drinking water food and air. 1 the vapor pressure for vinyl chloride is 2 600 mm hg at 25 c and it has a log octanol water partition coefficient log k ow of 1 36. In the environment the highest levels of vinyl chloride are found in air around factories that produce vinyl products. About 13 billion kilograms are produced annually.

At this time we do not know of an at home water test kit capable of detecting vinyl chloride but we do know that national testing laboratories offers mail in water testing services that include vinyl chloride detection. Links to two of their capable products to follow. If the testing reveals that the levels are higher than the epa mcl the water supplier must notify its customers. This health guideline protects against cancer.

Testing for vinyl chloride. If a water supply is contaminated vinyl chloride can enter household air when the water is used for showering cooking or laundry. 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. This level also can be used as a guideline for private drinking water sources.

Vinyl chloride is slightly soluble in water and is quite flammable. In a five city survey in that country concentrations of vinyl chloride up to 1 4 µg litre were detected in drinking water taken from distribution systems in which pvc pipe was used dressman mcfarren 1978. The ewg health guideline of 0 05 ppb for vinyl chloride was defined by the california office of environmental health hazard assessment as a public health goal the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. Environmental protection agency has set a maximum contaminant level of 2 ppb of vinyl chloride for public drinking water supplies.

This level also can be used as a guideline for private drinking water sources. The epa requires that the amount of vinyl chloride in drinking water not exceed 0 002 milligrams per liter mg l of water.