Health Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada
Environmental and Workplace Health

Selenium in Drinking Water

Information on the Document

The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water (CDW) has assessed the available information on selenium with the intent of updating the current drinking water guideline and guideline technical document on selenium in drinking water. The purpose of this consultation is to solicit comments on the proposed guideline, on the approach used for its development and on the potential economic costs of implementing it, as well as to determine the availability of additional exposure data. The CDW has requested that this document be made available to the public and open for comment.

The existing guideline on selenium, last updated in 1992, based its maximum acceptable concentration of 0.01 mg/L on an adequate and safe range of intake of 0.05-0.2 mg/day set by the National Academy of Sciences. This new document identifies chronic selenosis as the critical endpoint to derive the proposed MAC of 0.050 mg/L, using current scientific studies and an understanding of the mode of action. It provides updated data and information related to exposure to selenium in Canada and to analytical methods and treatment technologies available at the municipal and residential scales.

This Guideline Technical Document on selenium drinking water will be revised following evaluation of comments received, and a drinking water guideline will be established or revised, if required. This document should be considered as a draft for comment only.

How to Get Involved

To request the document:

  • Interested stakeholders can obtain an electronic copy of the document by sending an email to water_eau@hc-sc.gc.ca.
  • Please include in the subject line the title and preferred language of the consultation document you wish to receive.

Comments are appreciated, with accompanying rationale, where required. Please submit your comments also via email at water_eau@hc-sc.gc.ca, and include in the subject line the title of the consultation document on which you are commenting. If this is not feasible, comments may be sent by mail to the CDW Secretariat, Water and Air Quality Bureau, Health Canada, 3rd Floor, 269 Laurier Avenue West, A.L. 4903D, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9. All comments must be received before September 9, 2013.

Guideline technical documents are developed in collaboration with provincial and territorial partners, through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water (CDW). As provinces and territories are responsible for drinking water quality in their respective jurisdictions, consultation comments will be shared with the appropriate CDW member, along with the name and affiliation of the author. Authors that do not want their name and affiliation shared with their CDW member should provide a statement to this effect along with their comments.

Reporting to Canadians

Following each consultation, the guideline technical document will be revised and posted on the Health Canada website. A summary of the comments received and how they have been addressed will be available upon request.

If you have any questions, please contact us at water_eau@hc-sc.gc.ca