EPA to Work with Drinking Water Systems to Monitor Unregulated Contaminants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2012

EPA to Work with Drinking Water Systems to Monitor Unregulated Contaminants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today published a list of 28 chemicals and two viruses that approximately 6,000 public water systems will monitor from 2013 to 2015 as part of the agency’s unregulated contaminant monitoring program, which collects data for contaminants suspected to be present in drinking water, but that do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

EPA will spend more than $20 million to support the monitoring, the majority of which will be devoted to assist small drinking water systems with conducting the monitoring. The data collected under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR 3) will inform EPA about the frequency and levels at which these contaminants are found in drinking water systems across the United States and help determine whether additional protections are needed to ensure safe drinking water for Americans. State participation in the monitoring is voluntary. EPA will fund small drinking water system costs for laboratory analyses, shipping and quality control.

The list of contaminants to be studied includes total chromium and hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6. Addressing hexavalent chromium in drinking water is a priority for EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. In January 2011, EPA issued guidance to all water systems on how to assess the prevalence of hexavalent chromium and in the March 2011 proposal for UCMR 3, EPA invited comments on whether the agency should include chromium in the final rule. Public comments received by EPA were strongly supportive of adding total chromium and hexavalent chromium for monitoring.

“The monitoring that will take place will provide EPA with invaluable information about what municipalities are seeing in their drinking water all across the country,” said EPA acting assistant administrator for Water Nancy Stoner. “The results of this multi-year monitoring effort will help inform EPA’s work to ensure Americans receive safe drinking water.”

EPA selected the contaminants by first reviewing the agency’s contaminant candidate list, which highlights priority contaminants that need additional research to support future drinking water protections. The contaminants on the list are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems. However, they are not addressed by existing national drinking water standards. Additional contaminants of concern were selected based on current occurrence research and health-risk factors.

EPA has standards for 91 contaminants in drinking water, and the Safe Drinking Water Act requires that EPA identify up to 30 additional unregulated contaminants for monitoring every five years.

For more information, visit: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/index.cfm

R074 

HITACHI POWER SYSTEMS AMERICA, LTD. SIGNS ENHANCED ALL-DRY SCRUBBER TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENT

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, March 28, 2012 – Hitachi Power Systems America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., today announced that it has signed a license agreement with Solios Environnement Inc. to design and supply Enhanced All-Dry (EAD) Scrubber technology, jointly developed with Solios Environnement Inc, for the global electric utility market. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The EAD Scrubber technology is the original circulating semi-dry scrubber technology developed by Solios in the 1980s that has been widely applied in industrial sectors. It effectively removes SO2 as well as SO3, HCl, mercury and particulate matter from flue gas. Reactions occur in an entrained-flow, open vertical absorber which is preferred over more complex fluidized bed processes. By separating the reagent humidification and sulfur capture steps, this enhanced system is simple and reliable. Hitachi is applying the EAD Scrubber technology with a modular approach that allows unlimited scrubber capacity, virtually unlimited turndown, and enhanced system layout flexibility. EAD Scrubber technology has the additional advantages of low capital cost, low water consumption and dry byproducts, avoiding costly waste water treatment.

For more, click the link below:

http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/120329.html

Safe Drinking Water for Louisiana

News Release from EPA Region 6:

EPA Awards Over $470,000 to Provide Safe, Reliable Drinking Water to Louisiana Residents

(DALLAS – January 25, 2012)   A new grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help provide safe, reliable drinking water to the people of Louisiana.  The grant for $474,382, given to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH), will be used to manage the state’s drinking water program.  These activities include attaining and maintaining safe drinking water quality standards, supporting the state’s public drinking water systems, and compliance, enforcement and technical assistance.

Additional information on EPA grants:  http://www.epa.gov/region6/gandf/index.htm
More about activities in EPA Region 6:  http://www.epa.gov/region6
EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/jan2012.html

# # #