Overview

N-Nitrosodimethylamine is one of the DNA-damaging, cancer-causing contaminants called N-nitrosamines that can form during water treatment with the use of certain disinfectants, such as chloramine. learn more about this contaminant

Pollution of water sources with effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants and runoff from animal feeding operations contributes to nitrosamine formation. Fifteen different nitrosamines are listed as carcinogens in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program Report on Carcinogens. The federal government has not set a legal limit for nitrosamines in drinking water and water utilities typically do not test for these contaminants. California has set a public health goal for one of the most common nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, at 0.003 parts per billion in drinking water, a concentration that corresponds to an estimated one-in-one-million cancer risk.

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State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 3 ppt

The EWG Health Guideline of 3 ppt for n-nitrosodimethylamine 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. This health guideline protects against cancer.

ppt = parts per trillion