Human Health Water Quality Criteria and Methods for Toxics

Pollutants can harm people’s health when they drink water or eat seafood from contaminated surface water. EPA scientists research how much of a specific chemical can be present in surface water before it is likely to harm human health. Based on this research, EPA develops human health criteria.

• Human Health Water Quality Criteria Table

2015 EPA Updated Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health

EPA updated its national recommended water quality criteria for human health for 94 chemical pollutants to reflect the latest scientific information and EPA policies, including updated fish consumption rate, body weight, drinking water intake, health toxicity values, bioaccumulation factors, and relative source contributions. EPA accepted written comments from the public on the draft updated human health criteria from May to August 2014 and prepared responses to those comments. EPA water quality criteria provide recommendations to states and tribes authorized to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act.

• Fact Sheet: Human Health Ambient Water Quality Criteria: 2015 Update (pdf) (June 2015, EPA 820-F-15-001) (June 2015)
• Federal Register Notice (June 29, 2015)
• View public comments and other supporting documents on regulations.gov by searching for Docket Number EPA–HQ–OW–2014–0135
• EPA Response to Public Comments (pdf) (June 2015)
• Table comparing EPA's updated 2015 final human health criteria to previous criteria (pdf) (June 2015)
• Table Summarizing Updated Input Values for EPA's 2015 Final Updated Human Health Criteria (pdf) (March 2016)
• Estimated Fish Consumption Rates for the U.S. Population and Selected Subpopulations (NHANES 2003-2010) (pdf)
• Estimation Program Interface (EPI) Suite – Information, Program Download
• 2015 National Bioaccumulation Factors – Supplemental Information Document (January 2016)
• 2015 National Bioaccumulation Factors – Supplemental Information Table (Excel) (January 2016)

2002 National Recommended Human Health Criteria

In 2002 EPA published an updated compilation of its national recommended water quality criteria for 158 pollutants. EPA water quality criteria provide recommendations to states and tribes authorized to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. Additionally, EPA developed a criteria calculation matrix which provides: cancer potency factors, reference doses, relative source contributions, fish intake values, and equations used to derive the 2002 human health criteria.

• National Recommended Human Health Criteria: 2002 (pdf) (November 2002, EPA-822-R-02-047)
• Human Health Criteria Calculation Matrix (pdf) (November 2002, EPA-822-R-02-012)

2000 EPA Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health

EPA’s Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health is used in the development of EPA’s recommended criteria and offered as guidance for states and tribes in developing their own criteria.

• Fact Sheet: Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health - Revised Methodology (2000)
• Federal Register Notice: Revisions to the Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health (2000) (November 3, 2000)
• Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health (2000) (pdf) (October 2000, EPA-822-B-00-004)
• Human Health Methodology Technical Support Documents
  • Volume 1: Risk Assessment (pdf) (October 2000, EPA-822-B-00-005)
  • Volume 2: Development of National Bioaccumulation Factors (pdf) (December 2003, EPA-822-R-03-030)
    • Fact Sheet: Technical Support Document, Volume 2: Development of National Bioaccumulation Factors (pdf) (December 2003, EPA-822-F-03-014)
  • Volume 3: Development of Site-Specific Bioaccumulation Factors (pdf) (September 2009, EPA-822-R-09-008)
    • Fact Sheet: Technical Support Document, Volume 3: Development of Site-Specific Bioaccumulation Factors
• Estimated Fish Consumption Rates for the U.S. Population and Selected Subpopulations (NHANES 2003-2010) (pdf)
• Human Health Ambient Water Quality Criteria and Fish Consumption Rates Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)