23-Mar-10 6:00 AM CST

EPA to Toughen Drinking Water Standards

Drinking water standards would be tightened to limit cancer-causing contaminants under new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Administrator Lisa Jackson said Monday the EPA will issue stricter regulations on four chemical compounds within the next year, The Associated Press reported. Two of the compounds (tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene) are used in industrial and textile processing and can seep into drinking water from contaminated groundwater or surface water. The two others (acrylamide and epichlorohydrin) are impurities that can be introduced into drinking water during the water treatment process.

All four compounds can cause cancer, the EPA said.

Jackson also called for increased collaboration between federal regulators and states to develop new strategies and technologies that protect the public from contaminants in drinking water.

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