Hygienic regulation of harmful chemicals in water – a view through the prism of research by the A.N. Sysin Research Institute

The article is devoted to the history of hygienic regulation of harmful chemicals in water at the A.N. Sysin Research Institute, spanning several decades. The article details the stages of the development of the methodology for hygienic regulation of chemicals in water, starting from the first regulatory documents developed under the guidance of A.N. Sysin in the 1940s to an improved methodology that includes accelerated and in-depth toxicological experiments. The developed step-by-step regulation scheme for chemicals in water combines the experimental method of substantiating maximum allowable concentrations (MACs) based on organoleptic and general sanitary indicators of harmfulness with techniques that allow reducing the duration of toxicological studies where it is possible without loss of quality of the results. There are considered modern approaches to predicting the toxicity of substances and their biotransformation, including the use of data mining methods and quantum chemistry. Special attention is given to studying the issues of ensuring safe water use conditions for the population, the application of new chemical compounds in various industries, as well as the effectiveness and safety of reagents and technologies used in water purification and water treatment processes, including improving criteria and methods for studying the combined effects of substances. The results of studies on the transformation processes of substances under the action of various disinfecting agents are presented. Many years of research by the Institute’s staff are reflected in the Methodological Guidelines for substantiating hygienic standards for chemicals in the water of household and drinking water bodies and recreational water use, Methodological Guidelines for assessing the safety of materials, reagents, and equipment used for water purification and treatment, and the development of hygienic standards for the content of chemicals in water. On this basis, modern main documents on the regulation of chemicals in the environment have been created.