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  2. Water Quality Criteria

Human Health Criteria - Methylmercury

Related Information

  • Learn more about Mercury

The 2001 methylmercury human health criterion is a concentration of methylmercury in fish that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculated to protect human health. States and Tribes may use the criterion as the basis for establishing their water quality standards.

  • Federal Register Notice: 2001 Final Methylmercury Criterion (January 8, 2001)
  • Fact Sheet: Water Quality Criterion for the Protection of Human Health: Methylmercury (pdf) (211.13 KB, January 2001, EPA 823-F-01-001)
  • Water Quality Criterion for the Protection of Human Health: Methylmercury (pdf) (1004.47 KB, January 2001, EPA 823-R-01-001)

Final Implementation Guidance

This implementing guidance provides technical guidance to states and authorized Tribes on how they may want to use Water Quality Criterion for the Protection of Human Health: Methylmercury in their surface water protection programs (e.g., TMDLs, NPDES permitting). The guidance addresses questions related to water quality standards adoption (e.g., site-specific criteria, variances), assessments, monitoring, TMDLs, and NPDES permitting. The guidance consolidates the EPA's existing guidance where relevant to mercury.

  • Fact Sheet: Guidance for Implementing the January 2001 Methylmercury Water Quality Criterion (April 2010)
  • Guidance for Implementing the January 2001 Methylmercury Water Quality Criterion (pdf) (3.12 MB, April 2010, EPA 823-R-10-001)

Water Quality Criteria

  • Aquatic Life Criteria Table
  • Human Health Criteria Table
  • Human Health Toxics Criteria and Methods
  • Recreational Criteria and Methods
  • Aquatic Life Toxics Criteria and Methods
  • Nutrient Water Quality Criteria
  • Biological Water Quality Criteria
  • Other Aquatic Life Water Quality Resources
Contact Us about Water Quality Criteria
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on September 23, 2024
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