Menu

EWG's Tap Water Database — 2021 UPDATE

Donate

Benzene

Awc Valley Forge Crossing Mobile Home Park

Benzene is a known human carcinogen. It also damages blood cells and the nervous system. Emissions from petroleum processing, hazardous waste landfills and underground storage tanks contaminate drinking water with benzene. Read More.

To protect against cancer risks, California set a public health goal for benzene in drinking water at 0.15 parts per billion, 30 times lower than the federal legal limit of 5 parts per billion.

Click here to read more about carcinogenic VOCs.

 

22

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2014ND20ND
2015ND30ND
2016ND20ND
2017ND20ND
2018ND70ND
2019ND60ND

ppb = parts per billion

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.15 ppb

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.15 ppb for benzene 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.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) 5 ppb

The legal limit for benzene, established in 1987, was based on analytical detection limits at the time that the standard was set. This limit may not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to benzene exposure.

ppb = parts per billion

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2014-09-092028134003ND
2014-09-092028134001ND
2015-06-0112750207ND
2015-06-0112750228ND
2015-06-0112750249ND
2016-05-0414251468ND
2016-05-0414251491ND
2017-02-1015656083ND
2017-02-1015656104ND
2018-04-121808892-01ND
2018-04-121808892-03ND
2018-04-121808892-02ND
2018-09-182339349005ND
2018-09-182339349003ND
2018-09-182339349001ND
2018-12-213007545001ND
2019-03-223026957001ND
2019-04-163028568002ND
2019-04-163028568003ND
2019-09-093056650002ND
2019-10-043062099002ND
2019-10-223065360002ND