How dangerous is dioxane in your drinking water?
Channel: Risk Bites
Date: 2014-04-22

How worried should you be if 1,4-dioxane gets into your drinking water?  1,4-dioxane is an industrial chemical used as a solvent and a stabilizer -- and in areas where there's environmental contamination, safety is an important question, especially as the substance is a probable human carcinogen.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has conducted an extensive assessment of the risks of drinking 1,4-dioxane contaminated water.  This week's risk bites takes a look at what this assessment means for the city of Ann Arbor, where there's significant 1,4-dioxane groundwater contamination.

The Risk Bites Team:
Andrew Maynard
David Faulkner
Alyssa Berry

Risk Bites is supported by:
University of Michigan School of Public Health. http://www.sph.umich.edu/
University of Michigan Risk Science Center. http://umriskcenter.org 

Backing track: Based on Blue and Green by Rimsky.  http://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/blue-and-green

Additional Information

For twenty years between 1966 and 1986, Gelman Life Sciences, based to the west of the city of Ann Arbor in in Michigan, used 1,4-dioxane as a solvent in the manufacture of medical filters.  In 1984 1,4- dioxane was detected by a University of Michigan School of Public Health graduate student in Third Sister Lake close to the company. 1,4-dioxane was subsequently discovered in private water supplies to the west of Ann Arbor in 1985.  After nearly 30 years of environmental remediation and legal and community action, the area affected by the groundwater contamination continues to grow.  

Timeline of the Ann Arbor 1,4-dioxane contamination: 
http://www.a2gov.org/departments/systems-planning/Sustainability/pls/pages/timeline.aspx

The Ann Arbor 1,4-dioxane plume: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/environmental_health/card/PLSPlume_Summary_10222012_plusRW_B.pdf

CARD: Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/environmental_health/card 

EPA Technical Fact Sheet on 1,4-dioxane: http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrro_factsheet_contaminant_14-dioxane_january2014_final.pdf

EPA IRIS risk assessment on 1,4-dioxane: http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0326.htm 

ATSDR toxicology profile of 1,4-dioxane: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp.asp?id=955&tid=199 

EPA toxicity review of 1,4-dioxane: http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0326.htm 

The University of Risk Science Center is supported by a gift from the Charles and Rita Gelman Educational Foundation.  For more information on Risk Science Center, including the Center's funding, mission and guiding principles, see http://www.riskscience.umich.edu/vision-mission/

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