Is There a Chemist in the House

I'm embarassed to admit that I don't know exactly what effects extremely high levels of PO4 (is there a way to do super- and sub-script here?) would have on the human body. If you drink Coke, however, you can tell me what effects you think moderate levels of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) are having on your body. The phosphate polyatomic anion will not be in water by itself, and some phosphate salts could be toxic, although my guess is that most of the worst posibillities would be minimally soluable in water. I just pulled a bottle of dibasic sodium phosphate off the shelf, and the little health warning boxes on the lable are completely blank. There is a written warning telling us not to eat it, put it in our eyes, or breath fine particulates of this salt. Na2HPO4 is basic enough to be extremely bitter tasting, and would probably irritate your digestive tract. The low level of warning on the bottle is similar to the warnings on NaCl, Sucrose, and other essentially harmless compounds. Naturally, enough salt will kill you.
I assume the reason water is monitored for phosphate levels is that is an essential nutrient for plants (fertilizer) that will promote plankton and algal blooms that can be devastating to delicate ecosystems. If you want to know more, remind me, and I'll ask folks who actually know a bit more about the subject.
HESSIAN

 

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standards.html

I'll ask my Pop - in his professional capacity he went to Sacramento many times regarding water quality issues and government standards, most vehemently, if you will, in regards to nitrates/nitrites.

By way of example, he explained to lawmakers what they just nodded in a agreement to when they had no idea what they were nodding about after hearing loads of technobabble. Be glad he did, otherwise the bar would be set way too high, as despite technobabble, he showed how the original acceptable ppm count was pulled out of thin air.

But, he couldn't convince them otherwise when it came to those little signs one sees whenever they go to a store, restaurant or fruit stand - you know the one that says in so many words: "This facility uses cancer-causing chemicals, etc."

It's talking about water. Not something inherently toxic, like some spray or somesuch, water.

If a produce stand so much as rinses off an unpeeled orange, it better have that sign, otherwise, it's in violation.

 

I should emphasize that I was focusing on inorganic phosphate salts and the phosphate anion in aqueous solution. Many organo-phosphates are cholinesterase inhibiting pesticides (poisons) that work essentially the same way that nerve gas like sarin does. These compounds would also be likely targets of regulation.