In its Consumer Factsheet on EDB, the EPA, consistent with its mandate under the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, identifies EDB as a chemical, which, if found in drinking water, can cause both short and long term health effects including damage to respiratory and neurological systems, the liver, heart, and kidneys, and cancer.
EDB, coming from two of its most significant sources - leaded gasoline and pesticides - can enter the soil inadvertantly or otherwise, and then leach into groundwater. The EPA would like to see zero EDB in drinking water, and has set a limit of 0.05 parts per billion as technologically feasible to analyze for. If EDB levels exceed 0.05 parts per billion, water systems must notify the public because a serious risk to publc health is present.
Q: "So, what are XYLENES, anyway?" A: "Think of them as a set of 'chemical' triplet siblings. They are all poisonous, easily flammable, colorless, sort of sweet smelling hydrocarbon liquids that can come from coal tar, wood tar (like from a forest fire), and petroleum (where it occurs naturally and as a result of distillation). Each of the three (ortho, para, and meta) has an identical chemical formula - C6H4(CH3)2, but, they differ from each other physically and in certain chemical properties. Xylene is actually a sort of nickname for dimethylbenzene"
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