Parameter Viewer

Document ID ca-gcdwqgtd-2015-04-24-8 Title Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document – Selenium URL https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-guideline-technical-document-selenium/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-guideline-technical-document-selenium-page-10.html Jurisdiction /ca Subdomain(s) Drinking water Language en Status completed Analyzed at 2026-03-18 16:19:30.297132+00:00 Relevance Technical guideline from Health Canada regarding selenium in drinking water.

0 Qualitative 43 Quantitative 38 Definitions

Q Qualitative Requirements (0)

No qualitative requirements.

P Quantitative Requirements (43)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Limit Type	Limit Value	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#P001	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium	other	unknown	55 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) established by the Institute of Medicine for adolescents and adults (14-70 years of age) in Canada and the United States	adolescents and adults (14-70 years of age)	low
#P002	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium	other	unknown	17 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) values increase progressively from 17 to 55 µg/day for young people	young people (1-18 years old)	low
#P003	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium	other	unknown	15-20 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) value for infants	infants (0-12 months old)	low
#P004	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium	other	unknown	59-70 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) value for pregnant and lactating woman	pregnant and lactating woman	low
#P005	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium	other	unknown	800 µg/day	tolerable upper intake level (UL) derived by the Institute of Medicine from the NOAEL of 800 µg/day		low
#P006	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium (RDA)	other	requirement	55 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) established by the Institute of Medicine for adolescents and adults (14-70 years of age)	adolescents and adults (14-70 years of age)	high
#P007	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium (RDA)	other	requirement	17-55 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) values for young people (1-18 years old)	young people (1-18 years old)	high
#P008	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium (RDA)	other	requirement	15-20 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) value for infants	infants (0-12 months old)	high
#P009	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium (RDA)	other	requirement	59-70 µg/day	Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) value for pregnant and lactating woman	pregnant and lactating woman	high
#P010	chemical	health	guideline	Selenium (Tolerable Upper Intake Level)	other	requirement	800 µg/day	Tolerable upper intake level (UL) derived by the Institute of Medicine		high
#P011	physical	health	guidance	Plasma selenium concentration	other	requirement	70-90 µg/L	Concentrations considered adequate for enzyme function		high
#P012	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Human NOAEL)	other	requirement	819 µg/day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) set after symptoms disappeared in sensitive individuals	following replacement of high-selenium diet with imported grains	high
#P013	chemical	health	guidance	Minimum selenium intake causing toxicity	other	requirement	910 µg/day	Identified as the minimum intake level causing toxicity in sensitive individuals	Corresponds to a blood selenium concentration of 1054 µg/L	high
#P014	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Deficiency Threshold)	drinking water	requirement	< 10 µg/day	Intake level at which selenium is suspected to cause Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease.	General population	high
#P015	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Rat)	drinking water	requirement	0.4 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) in rats for selenate and selenite expressed as selenium.	Based on 90-day drinking water study; endpoints: mortality, body weight, water consumption, renal lesions.	high
#P016	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Mice - Selenate)	drinking water	requirement	0.8 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) in mice for selenate expressed as selenium.	Based on 90-day drinking water study; endpoints: body weight and water consumption.	high
#P017	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Mice - Selenite)	drinking water	requirement	0.9 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) in mice for selenite expressed as selenium.	Based on 90-day drinking water study; endpoints: body weight and water consumption.	high
#P018	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Dog - 28d)	drinking water	requirement	0.045 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for dogs in a short-term study.	28-day study using selenium-enriched yeast.	high
#P019	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Dog - 90d)	drinking water	requirement	0.06 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for dogs in a sub-chronic study.	90-day study using selenium-enriched yeast.	high
#P020	chemical	health	guidance	Blood Selenium (Fatal Threshold)	other	requirement	> 2600 µg/L	Postmortem blood concentrations in fatal cases.	Fatalities related to the quantity ingested and blood selenium levels.	high
#P021	chemical	health	guidance	Blood Selenium (Moderate Intoxication)	other	requirement	1500-3100 µg/L	Concentrations associated with moderate intoxication in humans.		high
#P022	chemical	health	guidance	Blood Selenium (Transient GI Disturbances)	other	requirement	410-930 µg/L	Blood concentrations at which transient gastrointestinal disturbances occur.		high
#P023	chemical	health	guidance	Blood Selenium (No Selenosis Threshold)	other	requirement	<= 1000 µg/L	Blood selenium concentration below which selenosis symptoms were not present.	Enshi County study population.	high
#P024	chemical	health	guidance	Blood Selenium (Minimum Toxic Concentration)	other	requirement	1054 µg/L	Identified as the minimum blood selenium concentration causing toxicity.	Identified in five Chinese individuals with persistent selenosis symptoms.	high
#P025	chemical	health	recommended	Selenium (Plateau Dose for Enzyme Activity)	other	requirement	45 µg/day	Average dose of selenium required to reach a plateau in glutathione peroxidase activity.	Adjusted for North American adults.	high
#P026	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Rat - 90d Yeast)	drinking water	requirement	0.23 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for rats in a 90-day study using selenium-enriched yeast.		high
#P027	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (NOAEL, Rat - 28d Yeast)	drinking water	requirement	0.1 mg/kg bw per day	No-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for rats in a 28-day study using selenium-enriched yeast.		high
#P028	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (LD50, Rabbit)	drinking water	requirement	1 mg/kg bw	Oral median lethal dose (LD50) in female rabbits for selenite.		high
#P029	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (LD50, Guinea Pig)	other	requirement	2.3 mg/kg bw	Oral median lethal dose (LD50) in female guinea pigs for selenite.	Female guinea pigs	high
#P030	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (LD50, Rat - Selenite)	other	requirement	7 mg/kg bw	Oral LD50 for Sprague-Dawley rats when selenite is administered.	Sprague-Dawley rats	high
#P031	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (LD50, Rat - Selenium Sulphide)	other	requirement	138 mg/kg bw	Oral LD50 for Sprague-Dawley rats when selenium sulphide is administered.	Sprague-Dawley rats	high
#P032	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (LD50, Rat - Elemental)	other	requirement	6700 mg/kg bw	Oral LD50 for Sprague-Dawley rats when elemental selenium is administered.	Sprague-Dawley rats	high
#P033	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Drinking Water Concentration - ALS Risk)	drinking water	requirement	>= 1 µg/L	Concentration associated with an increased risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in a population-based case-control study.	Drinking water consumption	high
#P034	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Drinking Water Concentration - Nebraska Study)	drinking water	requirement	> 0.01 mg/L	Threshold used to identify communities with higher selenium levels in a cross-sectional study of birth defects.	Nebraska communities study	high
#P035	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Renal Threshold - Rat)	drinking water	requirement	>= 7.5 mg/L	Concentration in drinking water associated with increased incidences of renal papillary degeneration in rats.	90-day drinking water study	high
#P036	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Renal Threshold - Rat, Selenite)	drinking water	requirement	>= 0.8 mg/L	Drinking water concentration associated with increased incidence of renal papillary degeneration in rats exposed to selenite.	90-day drinking water study	high
#P037	chemical	health	guidance	Plasma Selenium (NPC Trial Protection Boundary)	other	requirement	< 121.6 µg/L	Plasma selenium concentration range where cancer protection was observed in the NPC trial.	Men with initial levels below this threshold	high
#P038	chemical	health	guidance	Serum Selenium (NHANES III Mortality Boundary)	other	requirement	> 130 µg/L	Serum selenium concentration above which non-significant increases in all-cancer and all-cause mortality were observed.	NHANES III study population	high
#P039	chemical	health	guidance	Toenail Selenium (Prostate Cancer Reduction Range)	other	requirement	0.85-0.94 µg/g	Toenail selenium concentrations indicating a reduction in prostate cancer risk.		high
#P040	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Chronic Study Water Concentration - Initial)	drinking water	requirement	2 mg/L	Initial concentration of selenite or selenate in drinking water administered to rats.	Long-Evans rats at weaning	high
#P041	chemical	health	guidance	Serum Selenium (Normal Range)	other	requirement	0.70-1.65 µmol/L	Normal serum selenium levels provided as reference for comparison with toxic levels in supplement case studies.	Human healthy adults	high
#P042	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Chronic Study Water Concentration - Increased)	drinking water	requirement	3 mg/L	Dose administered in drinking water to Long-Evans rats from 1 year of age until death.	Chronic exposure starting at 1 year of age	high
#P043	chemical	health	guidance	Selenium (Tumor Reduction Threshold - Water)	drinking water	requirement	0.1-1.0 mg/L	Concentrations of selenite in water that resulted in reduced tumor incidence and delayed onset in mice.	Lifetime exposure in inbred female C3H/St mice	high

D Definitions (38)

Req ID	Name	Context	Confidence
#D001	DNA	deoxyribonucleic acid	high
#D002	RDA	Recommended Dietary Allowance	high
#D003	NOAEL	no-observed-adverse-effect level	high
#D004	UL	tolerable upper intake level	high
#D005	OR	odds ratio	high
#D006	NPC	Nutritional Prevention of Cancer	high
#D007	SELECT	Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial	high
#D008	RR	relative risk	high
#D009	HR	hazard ratios	high
#D010	NHANES III	Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey	high
#D011	SMR	standardized mortality ratio	high
#D012	SEM	standard error of the mean	high
#D013	EPIC	European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition	high
#D014	SU.VI.MAX	Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals	high
#D015	Diabetes	Diabetes was defined as a self-report of current use of medication or a fasting plasma glucose greater than 126 mg/dL.	high
#D016	ALS	amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	high
#D017	LD50 values	median lethal doses	high
#D018	NTP	U.S. National Toxicology Program	high
#D019	TUNEL	terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling	high
#D020	8-OHdG	8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine	high
#D021	NADPH	nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate	high
#D022	GPX-1	cytoplasmic glutathione peroxidase	high
#D023	GPX-4	phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase	high
#D024	ROS	reactive oxygen species	high
#D025	Keshan disease	characterized by cardiomyopathy	high
#D026	Kashin-Beck disease	characterized by rheumatism	high
#D027	paraesthesia	tingling sensations in extremities	high
#D028	selenosis	characterized by hair loss, nail anomalies or loss, skin anomalies, garlic odour of the breath, tooth decay and, more severely, disturbances of the nervous system.	high
#D029	Alkali disease	characterized by emaciation, stiffness, lameness, loss of hair and cracking of hooves	high
#D030	S-adenosylmethionine	a precursor of aminopropyl groups and glutathione; it also regulates the activities of multiple enzymes	high
#D031	LNCaP	human hormone-dependent prostate adenocarcinoma cells	high
#D032	selenic acid	selenium acid	high
#D033	metal gun bluing agent	metal polisher	high
#D034	sheep drench	vermifuge	high
#D035	p53	induction of apoptosis in response to DNA damage	high
#D036	selenide anion	CH3Se−	high
#D037	nitric oxide	inflammatory indicator	high
#D038	p27/Kip 1 protein	inhibitory action on cell cycle transition and its promotion of differentiation	high