EU's drinking water standards

Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intented for human consumption. Adopted by the Council, on 3 November 1998:

Chemical parameters

Parameter	Symbol/formula	Parametric value (mg/l)
Acrylamide	C₃H₅NO	0.0001
Antimony	Sb	0.005
Arsenic	As	0.01
Benzene	C₆H₆	0.001
Benzo(a)pyrene	C₂₀H₁₂	0.00001
Boron	B	1.00
Bromate	Br	0.01
Cadmium	Cd	0.005
Chromium	Cr	0.05
Copper	Cu	2.0
Cyanide	CN =	0.05
1,2-dichloroethane	Cl CH₂CH₂Cl	0.003
Epichlorohydrin	C₃H₅OCl	0.0001
Fluoride	F	1.5
Lead	Pb	0.01
Mercury	Hg	0.001
Nickel	Ni	0.02
Nitrate	NO₃	50
Nitrite	NO₂	0.50
Pesticides		0.0001
Pesticides - Total		0.0005
PAHs	C₂ H₃ N₁ O₅ P₁ ₃	0.0001
Selenium	Se	0.01
Tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene	C₂Cl₄/C₂HCl₃	0.01
Trihalomethanes - Total		0.1
Vinyl chloride	C₂H₃Cl	0.0005

Indicator parameters

Parameter	Symbol/ formula	Parametric value
Aluminium	Al	0.2 mg/l
Ammonium	NH₄	0.50 mg/l
Chloride	Cl	250 mg/l
Clostridium perfringens (including spores)		0/100 ml
Colour		Acceptable to consumers and no abnormal change
Conductivity		2500 μS/cm @ 20^oC
Hydrogen ion concentration	[H⁺]	≥ 6.5 and ≤ 9.5
Iron	Fe	0.2 mg/l
Manganese	Mn	0.05 mg/l
Odour		Acceptable to consumers and no abnormal change
Oxidisability		5.0 mg/l O2
Sulfate	SO₄	250 mg/l
Sodium	Na	200 mg/l
Taste		Acceptable to consumers and no abnormal change
Colony count 22^o		No abnormal change
Coliform bacteria		0/100 ml
Total organic carbon (TOC)		No abnormal change
Turbidity		Acceptable to consumers and no abnormal change
Tritium	H₃	100 Bq/l
Total indicative dose		0.10 mSv/year

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Rotterdamseweg 402 M
2629 HH Delft, The Netherlands
tel: (+31)(0)15 26.10.900
fax: (+31)(0)15 26.16.289
e-mail: info@lenntech .com

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