Why was sodium included on the Contaminant Candidate List?
The issue of sodium posed a unique challenge for the Agency priority setting and contaminant candidate listing process. On one hand, high levels of salt intake may be associated with hypertension in some individuals. On the other hand, sodium levels in drinking water are usually low and unlikely to be a significant contribution to adverse health effects. This low level of concern is compounded by the legitimate criticisms of EPA’s 20 milligrams per liter (mg/l) Drinking Water Equivalency Level (DWEL or guidance level) for sodium. EPA believes this guidance level for sodium needs updating, and is probably low. If a health benchmark for drinking water were established using current information and current drinking water health assessment procedures, it would likely be higher. This revision could establish a new level at which sodium occurrence would not meet the criteria for inclusion on the CCL as a drinking water contaminant of concern. There was insufficient time to complete a reasses
