AWWA's Inorganic Contaminants Committee

摘要

For the majority of north american drinking water utilities, inorganic contaminants have not been a major concern. The 1970s were the "thm (trihalomethane) decade" and the 1980s were the "organics decade," with much work done on synthetic organic chemicals (socs) and thms. I am reminded of a banner at one conference that read: "GAC is BAT for SOCs." The 1990s could be labeled as the "Crypto decade," beginning with the outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, continuing on with the Information Collection Rule (ICR) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) agreement, and ending with the microbial pathogens/disinfectant by-products (M/DBP) rule cluster. Even during the first decade of the twenty-first century, the majority of water utilities will be working to resolve compliance challenges posed by the Stage 2 Disinfectants/DBP Rule (D/DBPR) and the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR). With all of this on our plates, do we really have time to think about inorganics?