Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document – Cyanobacterial Toxins

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Organization: Health Canada

Type: Guidelines

Date published: 2018-09-07

Related guides and help

• Drinking water quality in Canada
• Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water
• Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality

Related program

• Water and Air Quality Bureau, Health Canada

From Health Canada

Overview

This guideline technical document provides the scientific information used to update the guideline for cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water. It reviews and assesses all identified health risks associated with cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water, taking into consideration new studies and approaches as well as the availability of appropriate treatment technology. Based on this review, the guideline for total microcystins in drinking water is a maximum acceptable concentration of 0.0015 mg/L (1.5 µg/L). This information is made available to provide Canadian jurisdictions (provinces, territories and federal departments) with the scientific basis they need to establish or update their requirements for cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water.

Who this document is for

1. Regulatory agencies
2. Academic community
3. Health protection agencies
4. Public drinking water utilities, such as drinking water treatment plants

In this guideline technical document

Part I. Overview and Application

• 1.0 Guideline
• 2.0 Executive summary
  • 2.1 Health effects
  • 2.2 Exposure
  • 2.3 Analysis and treatment
  • 2.4 International considerations
• 3.0 Application of the guideline
  • 3.1 Municipal scale drinking water supply systems
  • 3.2 Residential scale and private drinking water systems

Part II. Science and Technical Considerations

• 4.0 Identity of cyanobacteria and their toxins
  • 4.1 Microcystins
  • 4.2 Anatoxins and saxitoxins
  • 4.3 Cylindrospermopsin
  • 4.4 Dermatotoxins and other irritant toxins
  • 4.5 β-Methylamino-L-alanine
  • 4.6 Cyanobacterial growth and the development of blooms
  • 4.7 Cyanotoxin production and stability
• 5.0 Exposure
  • 5.2 Food
  • 5.3 Natural health products
• 6.0 Analytical methods
  • 6.1 Detection and measurement of cyanobacteria in source water
  • 6.2 Detection and measurement of microcystins
  • 6.3 Sample preparation
  • 6.4 Immunological and biochemical assays
  • 6.5 Field test kits
  • 6.6 Physicochemical methods
  • 6.7 Microcystin standards
  • 6.8 Comparison of methods
  • 6.9 Quality assurance and control
• 7.0 Treatment technology
  • 7.1 Prevention of cyanobacterial growth
  • 7.2 Municipal scale
  • 7.3 Residential-scale treatment
• 8.0 Kinetics and metabolism
  • 8.1 Absorption
  • 8.2 Distribution
  • 8.3 Metabolism
  • 8.4 Excretion
• 9.0 Health effects
  • 9.1 Effects in humans
  • 9.2 Effects on experimental animals
  • 9.3 Mode of action
  • 9.4 Toxic equivalency
• 10.0 Classification and assessment
  • 10.1 Microcystins
  • 10.2 Anatoxin-a
  • 10.3 Cylindrospermopsin
  • 10.4 International considerations
• 11.0 Rationale for guideline
• 12.0 References
• Appendix A: List of acronyms
• Appendix B: Considerations for implementing the guideline for total microcystins in treated drinking water supplies
  • B.1 Have an up-to-date action plan in place before a cyanobacterial bloom forms
  • B.2 Flow-chart
  • B.3 Interpreting the flow-chart

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Details and history

Published: September 7, 2018

Consulted: February - April, 2016 (see all consultations)

Part of topic(s): Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality

For assistance

Contact us by email: hc.water-eau.sc@canada.ca

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