Boron in the Environment

Boron has recently come to the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a possible contaminant worthy of regulation, but questions must still be addressed before a regulatory determination can take place. This article reviews current knowledge about boron as it pertains to water treatment and the environment so that informed decisions can be made regarding regulations and direction of future research. Specifically, this article summarizes boron chemistry, boron occurrence, health effects of boron, existing guidelines and regulations concerning boron, and methods for removing boron from drinking water.

KEYWORDS:

• boron chemistry
• drinking water
• health effects
• occurrence
• regulations
• treatment techniques

Acknowledgments

Portions of the treatment section were presented at the AWWA Inorganic Contaminants Workshop in San Diego in February 2002 and appeared in the proceedings of that workshop. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.