Benzene

Philadelphia Water Department

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.

MORE ABOUT THIS CONTAMINANT

Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Range of results
2013	N/A	0	N/A
2014	ND	15	ND
2015	ND	12	ND
2016	ND	12	ND
2017	ND	15	ND
2018	ND	15	ND
2019	ND	12	ND

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
2014-02-12	DW140212-000	ND
2014-02-12	DW140212-001	ND
2014-02-12	DW140212-003	ND
2014-05-14	7463348	ND
2014-05-14	7468948	ND
2014-05-14	7463350	ND
2014-05-14	7468950	ND
2014-05-14	7468949	ND
2014-05-14	7463349	ND
2014-08-13	7570046	ND
2014-08-13	7570047	ND
2014-08-13	7570048	ND
2014-11-19	DW141119-002	ND
2014-11-19	DW141119-038	ND
2014-11-19	DW141119-019	ND
2015-02-11	12406544	ND
2015-02-11	12406504	ND
2015-02-11	12406524	ND
2015-05-13	12754296	ND
2015-05-13	12754316	ND
2015-05-13	12754276	ND
2015-08-12	13140303	ND
2015-08-12	13140323	ND
2015-08-12	13140283	ND
2015-11-18	13518624	ND
2015-11-18	13518644	ND
2015-11-18	13518604	ND
2016-02-10	13874738	ND
2016-02-10	13874718	ND
2016-02-10	13874698	ND
2016-05-11	14257199	ND
2016-05-11	14257239	ND
2016-05-11	14257219	ND
2016-08-10	14741980	ND
2016-08-10	14742020	ND
2016-08-10	14742000	ND
2016-11-09	15231756	ND
2016-11-09	15231716	ND
2016-11-09	15231736	ND
2017-02-08	15662033	ND
2017-02-08	15662013	ND
2017-02-08	15661993	ND
2017-05-10	16101796	ND
2017-05-10	16101816	ND
2017-05-10	16100856	ND
2017-05-10	16100816	ND
2017-05-10	16101776	ND
2017-05-10	16100836	ND
2017-08-09	16572509	ND
2017-08-09	16572529	ND
2017-08-09	16572489	ND
2017-11-08	17029203	ND
2017-11-08	17029223	ND
2017-11-08	17029183	ND
2018-02-07	DW180207-019	ND
2018-02-07	DW180207-037	ND
2018-02-07	DW180207-002	ND
2018-05-09	DW180509-019	ND
2018-05-09	DW180509-002	ND
2018-05-09	DW180509-035	ND
2018-08-08	DW180808-002	ND
2018-08-08	8083919-01	ND
2018-08-08	8083919-02	ND
2018-08-08	DW180808-019	ND
2018-08-08	8083919-03	ND
2018-08-08	DW180808-035	ND
2018-11-07	DW181107-002	ND
2018-11-07	DW181107-018	ND
2018-11-08	DW181108-038	ND
2019-02-13	DW190213-034	ND
2019-02-13	DW190213-018	ND
2019-02-13	DW190213-002	ND
2019-05-15	DW190515-035	ND
2019-05-15	DW190515-019	ND
2019-05-15	DW190515-002	ND
2019-08-14	9084421-06	ND
2019-08-14	9084421-07	ND
2019-08-14	9084421-08	ND
2019-11-13	DW191113-019	ND
2019-11-13	DW191113-035	ND
2019-11-13	DW191113-002	ND