California is looking to join Hawaii as the second state to limit TCP (1,2,3-trichloropropane) in drinking water, according to an article from KQED. The state is proposing the establishment of a strict threshold for the toxic chemical compound, which has reportedly leached into many wells and reservoirs in and around California.
The California State Water Resources Control Board aims to set the maximum allowable amount of TCP in public tap water at five parts per trillion — the lowest level that existing filtration systems can reliably detect, according to the article, and far lower than the standard set in Hawaii. While contamination exists in California’s urban centers including Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Mateo counties, according to KQED, the most serious and widespread contamination exists in the agricultural heartland of the state’s Central Valley, where the chemical was reportedly prevalent from the 1950s into the 1980s.
Read the entire article here.