Low trihalomethane formation in Korean drinking water

Jeyong Yoon¹, Youshik Choi, Soonhang Cho

¹School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Shilimdong, Kwanak-Ku1, Seoul 151-742, South Korea. jeyong@snu.ac.kr

|January 16, 2003

Summary

Korean drinking water has significantly lower trihalomethanes (THMs) than US levels, mainly due to lower organic carbon and its formation potential. This suggests less urgent need for stringent THMs control in Korea.

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Water Quality Management
Public Health

Background:

Organics in water can form harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) like trihalomethanes (THMs) during chlorination.
Korean THMs levels in drinking water are notably lower than US standards, prompting an investigation into formation characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the characteristics of THMs formation in major Korean river waters.
To compare THMs levels and formation potential with data from the United States.
To clarify the regulatory implications of lower THMs levels in Korea.

Main Methods:

Water samples collected from 12 treatment plants on five major Korean rivers.
Determination of trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP), total organic halide formation potential (TOXFP), and UV absorbance at 254 nm (UV(254)).
Comparison of Korean data with existing US data and THMs models.

Main Results:

Korean treated drinking water had one-third the THMs levels reported in the US.
Lower THMs attributed to approximately 60% lower dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels and THMFP normalized to DOC in Korea.
US THMs models over-predicted observed Korean THMs levels.

Conclusions:

Stringent THMs control may not be a high priority for Korean drinking water quality.
Significant geographic variations in THMFP exist, necessitating region-specific THMs models.
Normalized THMFP for aromaticity (UV(254)) showed similar levels between Korea and the US.

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Low trihalomethane formation in Korean drinking water

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Low trihalomethane formation in Korean drinking water

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Background:

Purpose of the Study:

Main Methods:

Main Results:

Conclusions:

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