GENERAL INFORMATION
Diquat is an organic solid of colorless or yellow crystals. A water solution is dark red-brown. Diquat is a herbicide that has been used extensively in the United States since the late 1950s to control both crop and aquatic weeds. It is used on potatoes; as an aid in harvesting cotton, rapeseed and other oil seed crops; to wilt and dry out silage, standing hay, etc., for storage; a plant growth regulator and sugar cane-flowering suppressant. The major source of diquat in drinking water is runoff from herbicide use.
HEALTH EFFECTS
Some people who drink water containing diquat well in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for many years could get cataracts.
MCL ADVISORY - ACTION IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Diquat levels were detected in your water sample to exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL).
ACTION IS OPTIONAL
Diquat levels were detected in your water sample but do not exceed the maximum contaminant level.
WEBSITE RESOURCES
- USEPA - Water: Basic Information about Regulated Drinking Water Contaminants - Basic Information about Diquat in Drinking Water
- Ohio Department of Health - Private Water Systems Program - Water Quality - Organic Contaminants