The EPA
Has Found More Than A Dozen CONTAMINANTS
In Drinking Water But Hasn ’ t Set
Safety Limits On Them
By Agnel Philip
As far as state and federal officials are concerned , the drinking water in Smithwick , Texas , is perfectly safe .
Over the past two decades , the utility that provides water to much of the community has had little trouble complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act , which is intended to assure Americans that their tap water is clean . Yet , at least once a year since 2019 , the Smithwick Mills water system , which serves about 200 residents in the area , has reported high levels of the synthetic chemical 1,2,3-trichloropropane , according to data provided by the Environmental Working Group , an advocacy organization that collects water testing results from states .
The chemical , a cleaning and degreasing solvent that is also a byproduct from manufacturing pesticides , is commonly referred to as TCP . It has been labeled as a likely carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency for more than a decade . There have been few active sources of TCP since the 1990s , but its legacy lives on because it breaks down slowly in the environment .
How it got into the Smithwick Mills water supply is a bit of a mystery . There are some farms in the area , but it ’ s unclear whether they have used pesticides containing the chemical , and there are no known industrial sources nearby .
The TCP levels in the Smithwick Mills system are alarming to those who study water contamination . As with many chemicals , there ’ s limited information on TCP ’ s long-term effect on humans . But research involving animals shows evidence that it increases cancer risks at lower concentrations than many other known or likely carcinogens , including arsenic . Because of this , in 2017 , California state regulators set a maximum allowable level for TCP in water of five parts per trillion . Water quality tests from the Smithwick Mills utility have revealed an average TCP level of 410 parts per trillion over the past four years — more than 80 times what would be allowed in California .
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