Chemical hazards in drinking-water
Rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
Uranium is included in the plan of work of the rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality.
The revised background document is now available for review. Comments are welcome following the format of the comment sheet below.
Comments on the revised document above should be sent before 8 April 2011 to the following e-mail address: gdwq@who.int
The Guidelines for drinking water quality also consider for individual chemicals:
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Aspects of analytical achievability [Section 8.3, pp. 157-166]
pdf, 220kb -
Technical achievability (through treatment and other means) [Section 8.4, pp 166-184]
pdf, 220kb
Background: The current provisional guideline value for uranium is 15 µg/litre. There are a number of uncertainties surrounding the potential for health effects, which are targeted on the kidney. Clinical epidemiological studies from Finland are showing conflicting results regarding effects on kidney function, and there are also suggestions that there might be effects on bone and on blood pressure. The data are beginning to provide a basis for developing an updated guideline value based on human data.
Expected end-product(s): Updated background document and summary statement for the Fourth Edition
Progress to date: The GDWQ WG meeting (Berlin, 2007) agreed on a path forward. The GDWQ WG meeting (Singapore, 2008) was advised that available information will be reviewed to determine whether the document needs to be updated or the guideline value needs to be revised.
Other publications of interest
Managing surface waters for health (in preparation)