Author(s)

Kaleh Karim^1,2, Sujata Guha¹, Ryan Beni^1*

¹Department of Chemistry, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA.
²Department of Biological Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA.

Trihalomethanes, such as chloroform, bromoform, dibromo(chloro)methane, and bromo(dichloro)methane, are present in the major watersheds across the United States. These chemicals play an important role in the development of cancer, have adverse reproductive outcomes, and were found to be present above the threshold established by the Environmental Protection Agency. To understand the impact of socioeconomic background on the quality of water and possible disparities, we have analyzed the levels of total trihalomethanes in the metropolitan areas in the major watersheds across the United States, in 2018, as they correlated to average household incomes. Our study found that Arkansas, Nevada, and Rhode Island demonstrated higher than federally mandated levels of total trihalomethanes in their watersheds. The median annual household and per capita incomes of the three states (Arkansas, Nevada, and Rhode Island) were lower than the national average. In addition, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin, which had higher median income levels, demonstrated the lowest total trihalomethane levels across the United States.

Total Trihalomethanes, Contaminants, Watersheds, Household Income, Income per Capita, Environmental Justice, Chlorination

Karim, K. , Guha, S. and Beni, R. (2020) Total Trihalomethane Levels in Major Watersheds across the United States. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 8, 1-14. doi: 10.4236/gep.2020.86001.