Antimony
Overview
Antimony is a metal used in flame retardants, solder, and electronics that can enter water from industry or petroleum.
In Florida, Antimony was found in 29 community water systems serving about 325,444 people. 1 of those readings was above the federal legal limit, together serving 89 people. It was measured by 1,559 systems in all, so it was detected in 2% of the systems that tested for it.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Ray Mar MHP in Hillsborough County, at 120% of it.
Where it comes from: Discharge from petroleum refineries; fire retardants; ceramics; electronics; solder.
The standards
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California OEHHA PHG (2016). For comparison the legal limit is 6 ppb.
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Increase in blood cholesterol and decrease in blood sugar.
The health goal is set on health alone. The legal limit is set as close to it as is technically and economically feasible, so treatment cost and available technology are written into the number a utility is measured against. A system at or under the limit is meeting the standard it is required to meet. Both numbers are shown so the distance between them is visible.
What removes it
Reverse osmosis. Carbon does not remove it.
Treatment guidance describes the methods generally used for this contaminant. What your own tap actually carries depends on your plumbing and your service line as much as on the utility, which is what a test at the house tells you and an annual report cannot.
Where in Florida
Highest reported levels
Showing the 25 highest of 29 systems that reported Antimony.
Data Sources
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.