This paper presents the use of an equilibrium partitioning (EP) method to derive generic quality criteria. Quality criteria for dissolved concentrations in water, total water concentrations and total sediment concentrations were derived from direct-effect data (aquatic toxicity data) and product standard data (human consumption standards). Both sets of data were obtained from physico-chemical a...

The paper by Welch et al. entitled " Microbial quality of water in rural communities of Trinidad " (1) discussed aspects of water quality testing and expectations of safety of rural water supplies, and it affirmed similar observations of unpotability in developing countries that my colleagues and I described in a study in sub-Saharan Africa (2). The hazard of increased contamination of stored w...

This study evaluated water quality of the Nissitissit River and Salmon Brook, located in southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. Water samples were collected once a month over three consecutive months (June, July, and August – summer of 2007) at five locations in each river and analyzed for a group of chemical and microbiological parameters typically monitored to characterize...

Federal and state drinking-water standards and guidelines do not exist for many contaminants analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program, limiting the ability to evaluate the potential human-health relevance of water-quality findings. Health-based screening levels (HBSLs) were developed collaboratively to supplement existing drinking-water standards and gu...