Human Health Criteria

Methylmercury Fish Tissue Criterion

Regulatory Review Notice

EPA is in the process of reviewing several previous agency decisions, including those covered by the White House memo on regulatory review (memo in HTML | memo in PDF (2 pp., 51 K, About PDF)). The guidance document noted below is under review.

Criterion

The criterion is a concentration of methylmercury in fish that we calculated to protect human health. States and tribes may use the criterion as the basis for establishing water quality standards.

Fact Sheet with questions and answers describing the criterion for methylmercury.
Methylmercury Criteria Document January 2001; EPA-823-R-01-001
Federal Register Notice (January 8, 2001)

Final Implementation Guidance

This document provides technical guidance to States and authorized Tribes on how they may want to use the January 2001 fish tissue-based recommended water quality criterion for methylmercury in surface water protection programs (e.g., TMDLs, NPDES permitting). The guidance addresses questions related to water quality standards adoption (e.g., site-specific criteria, variances), assessments, monitoring, TMDLs, and NPDES permitting. The guidance consolidates existing EPA guidance where relevant to mercury.

Fact sheet (EPA 823-F-09-001; January 2009)
– Under Review – USEPA. 2009. Guidance for Implementing the January 2001 Methylmercury Water Quality Criterion. (EPA 823-R-09-002)

EPA's Mercury home page provides a broad range of information about mercury.

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

Historical Information

Federal Register Notice of Intent To Develop Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Protection of Human Health--Arsenic, Methylmercury, and Carbofuran; Notice of Data Availability; Request for Data and Information (October 12, 2000)
References currently used in the draft Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Methylmercury. It is subdivided into sections including human health, bioaccumulation, and chemical translators.
Draft Guidance for Implementing the January 2001 Methylmercury Water Quality Criterion. (EPA 823-B-04-001) | Fact sheet (August 2006)

Water Quality Standards | Drinking Water | Research and Development