WASHINGTON — EPA made a preliminary determination to regulate strontium in the U.S.’s drinking water, according to a press release.
Strontium is a naturally occurring element that, at elevated levels, can impact bone strength in people who do not consume enough calcium, stated the release.
Strontium replaces calcium in bones, affecting skeletal development and although strontium can affect all life stages, infants, children and adolescents are of particular concern as their bones are developing, continued the release.
The release reported that a regulatory determination is a formal decision on whether EPA should initiate a rulemaking process to regulate a specific contaminant.
The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to develop a contaminant candidate list (CCL) and then make a regulatory determination for at least five contaminants on the CCL, every five years, and based on available information, EPA initially determined that strontium has adverse health effects, added the release.
Strontium has been detected in 99 percent of public water systems and at levels of concern in seven percent of public water systems in the country, noted the release.
Read the entire release here.
