Environmental Protection Agency - EPA
Environmental Protection AgencyEstablishmentThe Environmental Protection Agency Act,1992, was enacted on 23 April, 1992, andunder this legislation the Agency was formally established on 26 July, 1993.ResponsibilitiesThe Agency has a wide range of statutoryduties and powers under the Act. The mainresponsibilities of the Agency include thefollowing:- the licensing and regulation oflarge/complex industrial and otherprocesses with significant pollutingpotential, on the basis of integrated pollution control (IPC) and the applicationof best available technologies for thispurpose;- the monitoring of environmental quality,including the establishment of databasesto which the public will have access,and the publication of periodic reportson the state of the environment;- advising public authorities in respect ofenvironmental functions and assistinglocal authorities in the performance oftheir environmental protection functions;- the promotion of environmentally soundpractices through, for example, theencouragement of the use of environmental audits, the setting of environmentalquality objectives and the issuing ofcodes of practice on matters affectingthe environment;- the promotion and co-ordination of environmental research;- the licensing and regulation of allsignificant waste disposal and recoveryactivities, including landfills and thepreparation and periodic updating of anational hazardous waste managementplan for implementation by other bodies;- implementing a system of permitting forthe control of VOC emissions resultingfrom the storage of significant quantitiesof petrol at terminals;- implementing and enforcing the GMORegulations for the contained use anddeliberate release of GMOs into theenvironment;- preparation and implementation of anational hydrometric programme for thecollection, analysis and publication ofinformation on the levels, volumes andflows of water in rivers, lakes andgroundwaters; and- generally overseeing the performance bylocal authorities of their statutory environmental protection functions.StatusThe Agency is an independent public body.Its sponsor in Government is theDepartment of the Environment and LocalGovernment. Independence is assuredthrough the selection procedures for theDirector General and Directors and the freedom, as provided in the legislation, to acton its own initiative. The assignment, underthe legislation, of direct responsibility for awide range of functions underpins thisindependence. Under the legislation, it is aspecific offence to attempt to influence theAgency, or anyone acting on its behalf, inan improper manner.OrganisationThe Agency's headquarters is located inWexford and it operates five regionalinspectorates, located in Dublin, Cork,Kilkenny, Castlebar and Monaghan.ManagementThe Agency is managed by a full-timeExecutive Board consisting of a DirectorGeneral and four Directors. The ExecutiveBoard is appointed by the Governmentfollowing detailed procedures laid down inthe Act.Advisory CommitteeThe Agency is assisted by an AdvisoryCommittee of twelve members. The members are appointed by the Minister for theEnvironment and Local Government andare selected mainly from those nominatedby organisations with an interest in environmental and developmental matters. TheCommittee has been given a wide range ofadvisory functions under the Act, both inrelation to the Agency and to the Minister.
Environmental Protection Agency 2001All or part of this publication may be reproduced withoutfurther permission, provided the source is acknowledged.PARAMETERS OF WATER QUALITYInterpretation and StandardsPublished by the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland.Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the materialcontained in this publication) complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. TheEnvironmental Protection Agency cannot accept any responsibilitywhatsoever for loss or damage occasioned or claimed to have beenoccasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting, orrefraining from acting, as a result of a matter contained in this publication.The definitive sources of the water quality standards quoted in thispublication are the relevant European Union Directives and the nationalStatutory Instruments which contain the corresponding Regulations.ISBN 1-84096-015-3Price: Ir 10.00Ä12.70
Parameters of Water Quality : Interpretation and StandardsCONTENTSList of Abbreviations Glossary of Terms Units of Expression Principal Relevant Atomic Weights A Note on Sources 888810INTRODUCTION 11Standards of Water Quality EU Water Quality Directives and Associated RegulationsProvisions of the Main Directives and Regulations Surface Water Directive (75/440 EEC) Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) 11121414151617171819192021 22THE PRINCIPAL PARAMETERS OF WATER QUALITY 20. 2525262728293031323333343435363738394142 Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC)Freshwater Fish Directive (78/659/EEC) Shellfish Directive (79/923/EEC) Ground Water Directive (80/68/EEC) Drinking Water Directive (80/778/EEC) Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) A Brief Overview of the Above DirectivesParameters Covered in the Present Volume PRESENTATION OF THE DATA romateCadmiumCalciumCarbon Dioxide (Free)ChlorideChlorine, ResidualChlorophyllChromium . 5
Parameters of Water Quality : Interpretation and StandardsContents : ContinuedTHE PRINCIPAL PARAMETERS OF WATER QUALITY 7.68.69.70.Clostridium perfringens (including spores)Cobalt. Coliforms, Faecal& Total Colony Counts Colour. Conductivity Copper. Cryptosporidium Cyanide. 1,2-Dichloroethane Enterococci . Enteropathogenic Viruses Epichlorohydrin Fluoride. Giardia. Hardness . Heavy Metals Hydrocarbons, Dissolved & EmulsifiedIron. Lead. Magnesium. Manganese . Mercury. Methylene Blue-Active SubstancesMolybdenum Nickel. Nitrate. Nitrite. Nitrogen, Kjeldahl Odour. Organic Carbon, Total Organo-Halogenated Substances Oxidisability Oxygen Demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen, Dissolved Pathogenic Staphylococci Pesticides (Individual & Total) pH. Phenols. Phosphates . Phosphorus, Total Polychlorinated Biphenyls & TerphenylsPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Potassium . Pseudomonas aeruginosa Salinity. Salmonella . Selenium . Silica. 6 67686970717273747577798182838586888990919293939495
Parameters of Water Quality : Interpretation and StandardsContents : ContinuedTHE PRINCIPAL PARAMETERS OF WATER QUALITY [Continued]71. Silicon, Toxic or Persistent Organic Compounds 72. Silver 73. Sodium 74. Solids, Settleable 75. Solids, Suspended 76. Solids, Total 77. Solids, Total Dissolved 78. Substances Affecting Taste 79. Substances Extractable in Chloroform 80. Substances which Possess Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Teratogenic Properties81. Sulphate 82. Sulphide 83. Tarry Residues and Floating Matter 84. Taste 85. Tellurium . 86. Temperature . 87. Tetrachloroethylene 88. Thallium . 89. Tin 90. Tin,Organo-Compounds 91. Titanium 92. Total Indicative Dose [Radioactivity] 93. Transparency 94. Trichloroethylene 95. Trihalomethanes 96. Tritium 97. Turbidity 98. Uranium 99. Vanadium . 100. Vinyl Chloride 101. Zinc endix 1 :Appendix 2 :Appendix 3 :Appendix 4 :Appendix 5 :Appendix 6 :Appendix 7 :Appendix 8 :Appendix 9 :Variations in Water Quality in Space and Time Units of Analysis Concentrations in Milligrams/Litre of Total Ammonia in Fresh Water whichcontain an Un-ionised Ammonia Concentration of 0.02 mg/l NH4Saturation Index/Langelier Index/Calcium Carbonate Saturation IndexSupplementary List of EU Directives and Associated RegulationsDangerous Substances Directive - List I and List II Substances Ground Water Directive - List I and List II Substances World Health Organisation: Guidelines for Bacteriological QualityWorld Health Organisation: Recommended Treatments 7121122125126127129130131132
Parameters of Water Quality - Interpretation and StandardsLIST OF ABBREVIATIONS[A] / [B] / [C] / [D]Indicate (in increasing order) four arbitrary classifications of complexity ofanalytical techniques. Thus, [A] indicates a basic technique which is foundin virtually any laboratory; [D] denotes a technique of high sophisticationwhich will be available in only specialised laboratories. Further, the use ofmore than one classification - e.g. [B]/[C] - indicates that there are twotechniques commonly used for the particular determination, one morecomplex than the other.(S)(C)Salmonid waters - Freshwater Fish Directive/Salmonid Water RegulationsCyprinid waters - Freshwater Fish DirectiveG [value]I [value]MACGuide [advisory] value in EU DirectivesMandatory [imperative] value in EU DirectivesMaximum admissible concentration - 1980 Drinking Water Directive/ 1988RegulationsMinimum required concentration - 1980 Drinking Water Directive/1988 RegulationsMRCNLVNational Limit Value - fixed in accordance with Directives/correspondingRegulationsn/aNot applicableGLOSSARY OF TERMSA1 waters A2 waters --------A3 waters Cyprinid watersSalmonid waters96-hour LC50Organoleptic tests/propertiesThe water categories in the 1975 Surface Water Directive/1989 Regulations.Waters of a quality sufficient to support coarse but not game fish.Waters of a quality sufficient to support game fish.The concentration of a toxic material which will bring about the death of 50per cent of the species under test in 96 hours.Tests for and characteristics of parameters which depend on or affect thesenses of smell and taste.UNITS OF EXPRESSIONµg/l xmg/l xng/l xmicrograms per litre of substance x, expressed as xmilligrams per litre of substance x, expressed as xnanograms per litre of substance x, expressed as x.PRINCIPAL RELEVANT ATOMIC WEIGHTSCalcium (Ca)Carbon (C)Chlorine (Cl)Hydrogen (H)401235.51Nitrogen (N)Oxygen (O)Phosphorus (P)Sulphur (S)814163132.
Parameters of Water Quality - Interpretation and StandardsACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe valuable assistance of Gerry O'Flaherty andthe late Marie Allen is gratefully acknowledged.IMPORTANT NOTICEReaders are advised that this document, as posted on theEnvironmental Protection Agency website, is a slightly reformattedversion of the published volume of the same name, which was issued bythe E.P.A. in 2001. The content of this present version is identical to thatof the latter and has not been updated or revised. Therefore, readersshould be aware that additional Regulations may now be in force and, ifso, they should be taken into account when considering the subject matterof this document.9
Parameters of Water Quality - Interpretation and StandardsA Note on SourcesThe most relevant sources for the present volume are unquestionably the variousDirectives relating to water which have been adopted by the Council of the EuropeanUnion over a period of some 25 years. All the standards which are cited herein originate inthe respective Directives, although in many cases successive Ministers for theEnvironment (and Local Government) have made national Regulations which transposethe provisions of the corresponding Directives into Irish law. In making the Regulations,the respective Ministers have generally adopted the same limit values for the individualparameters as are given in the original Directives. However, there are some importantexceptions where a Minister has fixed a standard which is stricter than in the Directive.In this volume, Regulations (where they have been made) are cited as they haveprecedence over the underlying Directive, the latter being quoted only where necessary.This scheme is necessary in the case of the Freshwater Fish Directive (78/659/EEC) whichspecifies parallel standards for salmonid and cyprinid waters, respectively. There areMinisterial Regulations covering the former only, and, accordingly, the coverage of thelatter below is based on the Directive. The EU Directives which are quoted extensively inthis handbook are listed in detail in the text below. The texts of the respective Directiveshave been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities and theappropriate references are cited. A supplementary list of Directives is set out in Appendix5, again with Journal references.The reader of previous editions of this book will note that in the present version thetables containing the standards cover EU-related legislation only, and that references toAmerican EPA or World Health Organisation [WHO] sources have been omitted. Thischange has been made for two reasons. Firstly, the information presented was advisory orfor guidance and had no legal force and, further, some of it was either out of date or oflittle current relevance. Secondly, with the future adoption by the EU of the FrameworkDirective in the Field of Water Policy, systems will be put in place for the incorporation ofstandards for any substances for which it is considered they are required. It is theintention of the EU Commission that a list of priority dangerous substances will be drawnup, with appropriate environmental quality standards [EQSs], and incorporated in theFramework Directive, and, further, that there will be future additions to the Directive ascircumstances warrant.It is important to stress, however, that one of the most important sources of all is theinvaluable WHO publication Guidelines for drinking-water quality.1 This is an essentialreference work which should be in the hands of all concerned with the quality of drinkingwater. The reader should note that the only definitive sources of water quality standardsin Ireland are the respective EU Directives and/or the corresponding National Regulationsmade in connection therewith. This volume is not a legal document.The WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water quality at present comprises four volumes, as under. Of these,the first two are essential for those concerned with drinking water quality, the remaining two being stronglyrecommended. [1] Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Volume I : Recommendations, Second Edition,Paperback 188 pages (1993), ISBN 92 4 154460 0; [2] Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Addendum toVolume I : Recommendations. Paperback - 36 pages (1998), ISBN 92 4 154514 3; [3] Guidelines for Drinkingwater Quality Volume 2: Health Criteria and Other Supporting Information, Second Edition, Hardcover - 973pages (1996), ISBN 92 4 154480 5; [4] Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Volume 3: Surveillance andControl of Community Water Supplies, Second Edition, Paperback -238 pages (1997), ISBN 92 4 154503 8.110
INTRODUCTIONThe present volume is a completely new edition of the handbook originally publishedby the Environmental Research Unit in early 1989. The latter, in turn, was based on amanual produced in October 1986 as the sixth in a series of publications for the WaterSupply Distribution Training Programme of An Foras Forbartha. As with its predecessors,the present aim is to present in an immediately accessible, compact form all the relevantdata and informative comment useful to the environmentalist faced with problems causedby a wide variety of water pollutants, and who may be called upon to take immediateremedial action.In this context, the term environmentalist is used bearing in mind particularly thosepersonnel - administrators, chemists, engineers or technicians - who are immediatelycharged with the implementation of national and EU legislation concerning waterpollution. The present book is therefore addressed to monitoring agencies, in particular,but it is the hope that others with an active concern for or professional involvement in thefield of water pollution control will find it of some value.The aim of the handbook is to distil the principal facts and figures on a total of some100 individual or group pollutants - information which is otherwise available, but in awide variety of sources - into a single volume, in which the parameters are treatedindividually, in a generally uniform format. While there is a very large (and growing)body of scientific and technical literature in the field of water and wastewater analysesand their interpretation and significance, many publications, because of the thoroughnesswith which they deal with perhaps a very specialised aspect, do not contain in succinct"capsule" form those facts which are of most practical value.Among the most relevant facts concerning each parameter are, of course, the limits(advisory or mandatory) which either scientific or medical opinion or legislative bodiesconsider applicable. Hence, there is a comprehensive presentation of all concentrationlevels specified either nationally or in the legislation of the EU. It is considered that thepresent compendium of guide and mandatory levels as set out in the relevant EUDirectives, and the associated national Regulations made by the respective Ministers forthe Environment (and Local Government) - and which is as comprehensive as possible atthe time of writing - should prove a convenient reference source.One major reason for the publication of the present handbook is the fact that thevariety of analytical techniques and their complexity is growing, necessitating thepresence of an increasingly high degree of specialisation in the laboratory. There is oftenan accordingly wide gap between those who perform a set of analyses and those who willbe responsible for the interpretation of the results and the taking of any consequentaction. It is the intention that this manual will help to bridge this gap.STANDARDS OF WATER QUALITYThere are many sources of water quality criteria and standards - they may originatein the Member States of the European Union, or may be adopted by the Council orParliament of the EU, or by individual countries, or they may be issued by internationalbodies.11
Parameters of Water Quality - Interpretation and StandardsFurther, these various levels specified will take cognisance of the differing uses forwhich water quality must be maintained. The requirements, as regards suitability, ofwater for industrial use, for drinking, for boilers and so on, may differ widely and eachmay be quite demanding. The ultimate objective of the imposition of standards (which maynecessitate extensive treatment prior to use) is the protection of the end uses, be these byhumans, animals, agriculture or industry. In the present context, however, the mainconsiderations are in regard to safeguarding public health and the protection of the wholeaquatic environment. Both have very high quality requirements which complement eachother to a great extent. For example, in general terms, if a river or lake water meets themost stringent fishery requirements it will meet all or virtually all other environmentalquality objectives [EQOs). In fact, the EU Framework Directive in the field of WaterPolicy1 defines a single EQO - achieving and maintaining "good ecological status." 2In Ireland the origins of the vast majority of water quality standards imposed to dateare the various EU Directives which since 1975 have specified the quality required ofwater
Environmental Protection Agency Establishment The Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992, was enacted on 23 Ap
Rapid Flow, Titration, Turbidimetry, Ultraviolet- Visible Spectroscopy (UV/VIS) Parameter/Analyte Water pH EPA 150.1 Turbidity EPA 180.1 Calcium EPA 200.7 Iron EPA 200.7 Magnesium EPA 200.7 Potassium EPA 200.7 Silica, Total EPA 200.7 Sodium EPA 200.7 Aluminum EPA 200.8 Antimony EPA 200.8 Arsenic EPA 200.8 .
EPA Test Method 1: EPA Test Method 2 EPA Test Method 3A. EPA Test Method 4 . Method 3A Oxygen & Carbon Dioxide . EPA Test Method 3A. Method 6C SO. 2. EPA Test Method 6C . Method 7E NOx . EPA Test Method 7E. Method 10 CO . EPA Test Method 10 . Method 25A Hydrocarbons (THC) EPA Test Method 25A. Method 30B Mercury (sorbent trap) EPA Test Method .
40 CFR Part 63 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0314, EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0312, EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0313, EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0670, EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0668, EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0669; FRL-10006-70-OAR] RIN 2060-AT49 and RIN 2060-AT72 NESHAP: Surface Coating
vii References The following resources were used in producing this manual: EPA: Package Treatment Plants MO-12, EPA 430/9-77-005, April 1977 EPA: Summary Report: The Causes and Control of Activated Sludge Bulking and Foaming, EPA 625/8-87/012, July 1987 EPA: Manual: Nitrogen Control, EPA 625/R-93/010, September 1993 EPA: Handbook: Retrofitting POTWs, EPA 625/6-89/020, July 1989
EPA Method 7E –NO, NO 2, NOx Yes EPA Method 8 –SO 2, SO 3 Yes EPA Method 10 –CO Yes EPA Method 11 –H 2 S ( 50 ppm Yes EPA Method 16 –TRS Yes, including mercaptans and other reduced sulphurs EPA Method 18 –VOC’s Yes EPA Method 26 –HCl, HF Yes EPA CTM 027 –NH 3 Yes. ADVANTAGES OF FTIR
PRECEDENTIAL SIERRA CLUB, Petitioner v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY *PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, Intervenor Respondent *(Pursuant to the Court Order dated 8/5/19) _ On Petition for Review of Final Agency Action of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-1: EPA-R03-OAR-2017-0290)
the following methods: . (Standard Methods, 2540D), 27 metals by ICP-AES (EPA, 200.7), mercury by FIMS (EPA, 245.2),, and 18 metals by ICP-MS (EPA, 200.8) 42 volatile organic compounds by GC-MS (EPA, 8260B), 28 metals by ICP-AES (EPA, 6010C), mercury by FIMS (EPA, 7470A and 7471B), and 18 metals by ICP-MS (EPA, 6020A)
This quality assurance project plan (QAPP) is consistent with EPA Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA QA/R5, 2001, EPA/240/B-01/003); EPA Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPA QA/G-5M, 2002, EPA/240/R-02/007) and EPA
