2022 Volume 71 Issue 1 Pages 55-65
Supplying drinking water with sufficient quality is essential for sustaining public health. The requirements on drinking water quality must be updated based on new evidence on chemical and biological risk factors. Providing accurate latest scientific knowledge required for such updates is one of the most important roles for the Area on Water Management (AWM), Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health (NIPH). In this article, the contributions of the NIPH to the drinking water quality management in Japan are reviewed. General aspects of drinking water quality management in Japan, including the history and the basic concept of the current drinking water quality standards (DWQSs), approaches for controlling pathogenic microorganisms, and activities for establishing water safety plans (WSPs) are overviewed. Recent water quality incidents and waterborne disease outbreaks are also explained. Then, the contributions of the AWM of NIPH to DWQSs are explained, with selected recent activities, i.e., setting allocation used in DWQSs based on exposure studies, a nationwide survey on water intake, selection of pesticides and other chemical substances to be included in DWQSs. Finally, the future perspectives on expected needs for our research and dissemination activities are provided."
