Researchers from Johns Hopkins University created a new method to analyze the health risk of chemicals used in water treatment plants in the U.S. According to the researchers, some of the chemicals used could lead to the formation of unregulated and dangerous byproducts. The team’s new approach to assessing drinking water quality could create safer tap water by eliminating byproducts.

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Currently, there are 11 byproduct compounds regulated in drinking water. In contrast, more than 700 disinfection byproducts have been identified in chlorinated drinking water. The number of such compounds regulated in drinking water has not changed since the 1990s, even though there is scientific evidence that there are other toxic compounds in these byproducts.

The current chemical evaluation process for drinking water is tedious and outdated. For example, chemicals are evaluated for toxicity through expensive and time-consuming animal studies. Applying this method to the growing number of chemicals in drinking water isn’t realistic.

The team says that at the minimum, new methods are needed to identify high concern chemicals and propose casting a bigger net to capture a more diverse mixture of chemicals in water samples. To do this, reactivity directed analysis was applied to provide a broader view of what is in potable water. This method targets the largest class of toxic chemicals called organic electrophiles.

Reactivity directed analysis helps prioritize which chemicals need the most attention. This would help lawmakers devise new regulations and limits while saving time and resources. It identifies toxicants based on reactivity with biomolecules and simulates water processes to identify the chemicals.

A paper on the new approach was published in Environmental Science: Processes and Imports.