Chlorate Fact Sheet

What is Chlorate & Why is it an Indicator to Monitor?

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions decompose slowly to produce chlorate and chlorite
ions.
The majority of Queensland water service providers use chlorine gas for disinfection but use
of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as a primary disinfectant is widespread.
Regardless of the primary disinfection method used, sodium hypochlorite is often used at
booster stations and also in pre-chlorination for iron and manganese removal.
International research indicates that chlorate presents a potential health risk to consumers
in that it causes damage to red blood cells. A recent study has also demonstrated
perturbation of thyroid cells.

Regulatory Status for Chlorate in Drinking Water In Queensland

The World Health Organisation has established a provisional guideline of 0.7 mg/L for
chlorate in drinking water supplies.
A new Australian Drinking Water Guideline (ADWG) is expected to be released in 2011. The
draft of the proposed guideline released in 2009 for the first time included a chlorate health
limit of 0.3 mg/L. The inclusion of chlorate into the ADWG is undergoing robust debate and
may or may not be included in the 2011 revision. A limit of 0.3 mg/L for chlorite has been
previously established.
At present, any Water Service Provider that measures chlorate concentrations must report
results as an incident to the Queensland Government (DERM) regardless of the
concentration (because they are not included in the ADWG).
The DERM (Office of the Water Supply Regulator) is currently recognising some Service
Providers measuring chlorate as part of a research project rather than a standard test
meaning that incidents do not have to be reported on every detection of chlorate.

The above regulatory controls are significant to all water utilities which currently use or plan to use
sodium hypochlorite to achieve chlorine disinfection.

Managing Chlorate Residuals

The possible solutions for scheming chlorate residual levels are limited and none are likely to be
effective alone. Work on this issue has already been undertaken by the Grid Manager in SEQ,
SEQWater and several qldwater members. This work has identified some of the key management
strategies which Water Service Providers can use to manage the likelihood of chlorate residuals.
Unfortunately many of the measures are difficult for small remote Service Providers in Queensland
to achieve.

Management solutions include:

o protect sodium hypochlorite storage tanks from sunlight,

o Keep solutions cool - store in air conditioned areas where possible, but not in the
proximity of incompatible chemicals such as acids, alum and ammonia.
o decrease the dosing rate of sodium hypochlorite applied where this does not
compromise disinfection,
o do not store sodium hypochlorite for long periods,
 o reducing background chlorate concentrations through careful specification of
sodium hypochlorite solution quality, particularly the pH value and chlorate
concentration at the point of delivery.

A blend of solutions is likely to be required and the mix will depend on local conditions. Potential
mitigation measures (each of which has its own costs and benefits) include:
Potential mitigation strategy Potential Benefits Potential Costs
Working with suppliers to A higher quality would could be difficult for small WSPs
reduce chlorate reduce the initial base- may increase costs
concentrations in source line chlorate could result in poorer quality stocks
materials concentration in the shifted to other Service Providers
drinking water
Work with suppliers to reduce delivery time to could be difficult to achieve particularly
minimise the time from minimise the initial for small WSPs.
manufacture to delivery and chlorate concentration Could result in older stocks being
use in the sodium passed to other service providers.
hypochlorite
diluting stock concentrations significantly slows may require installation of additional
down rate of chlorate storage tanks and mixing devices
formation in stored would take time to implement
solutions

store solutions in cool areas
and out of direct sunlight e.g.
air conditioned room, shading
of storage areas.
increase turn-over/ delivery of
hypochlorite
replacing over-size tanks or
converting from single to two
or more tanks to allow
variable mixing and storage
reduces the rate of costly in many areas where chemicals
sodium hypochlorite are stored in simple sheds exposed to
break down to chlorate sunlight.
reduces storage time increases costs of transport and supply,
and chlorate formation particularly in remote areas.
variation in need is difficult to predict in
some regions
need to maintain sufficient base level
and emergency supplies, particularly in
remote areas
reduces storage time additional cost
and chlorate formation some WSPs are seeking economies of
scale by increasing tank sizes.

converting to use of chlorine no chlorate issues at expensive to convert systems

gas main chlorination point public safety and OHS issues
many booster stations still use NaOCl

setting specifications during purchase NaOCl with may increase expense

the purchase of NaOCl.
low chlorate levels, pH
> 12, low concentration
of Cu and Ni for longer
shelf life.
individual WSPs may have little
negotiating power and few options
for alternative suppliers.
could result in poorer quality stocks
shifted to other unsuspecting
Service Providers