Drinking water quality criteria and the different Brazilian norms focused on chemicals
Keywords:
Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), Drinking Water Guidelines, Risk for Human HealthAbstract
The quality of water for human consumption is extremely important for health. Because of this, there are recommended maximum values for chemicals, that can be present in water. These criteria aim to ensure that ingested water does not cause adverse health effects. With this in focus, there are potability criteria that are values previously defined by regulatory toxicology, derived from experimental data. These limits must be met to ensure the potability of the water. In Brazil, there are four regulations that contemplate potability standards (Portaria GM/MS nº 888/2021; CONAMA nº 420/2009; CONAMA nº 396/2008 and CONAMA nº 357/2005). This article aims to inform and discuss the potability criteria of current legislation that, on several occasions, have different values for the same substance, in addition to make a comparison with criteria adopted by other countries and those recommended by the WHO. An analysis of the possible causes of these divergences is discussed in the article. It is possible to conclude that there is an urgent need to standardize the derivation of the criteria in the country and harmonize the values presented among the legislations that present criteria for water for human consumption.
