물은 신체의 대부분을 구성하고 있는 기본 물질로서 생명유지의 필수 요소이다. 특히 WHO에서는 인류 건강유지의 1등 공신으로 깨끗한 물공급을 꼽고 있다. 우리나라는 산업화, 도심화를 통해 신규오염물질 발생이 증가하고 있으며 특히 먹는물의 경우 중금속 및 소독부산물 중심의 관리에서 난연제, 코팅제, 의 약물질 등 신규오염물질 관리에 주력하고 있다. 우리나라 먹는물 수질기준은 1963년 최초 도입된 이래 1984년, 1986년 개정 강화되었으며, 1995년 먹는물 관리법이 제정되었고 1997년 감시항목이 설정되 어 기준과 감시의 2원화된 관리체계가 유지되고 있다. 먹는물 수질기준은 외국 사례 도입방식에서 체계적 장기 모니터링을 통한 위해도 평가를 수행하여 기준을 강화하고 있으며 현재 60개 항목으로 확대 강화되었다.

The tap water plays a critical role in our daily life by providing clean water for drinking as well as for residential use. Its importance, however, is often hidden and criticized in mass media because drinking the unprocessed tap water as a primary source of drinking water is very low comparing to other countries. This is because survey tool in Korea is often different from those in other countries so their results on the tap water cannot be directly compared without analysis on survey questionnaire. Therefore, we examplified cases showing the difference of questions of each country and discussed the reason why results of tap water intake should not be compared without analysis on the questions. Also, distrust on Arisu without rational reason is known as the first reason of distrust on the tap water. However, it was not the ultimate reason of distrust on the tap water. To verify, we designed survey questions in a tricky way that the same question was asked twice with different choices in the survey questionnaire. Most of the people who distrust Arisu without rational reason at the first question were selected different choices and significantly reduced in the second question. This proved that the ratio of distrust on the tap water is not actually the right reason and that by providing more choices, people’s distrust on the tap water without rational reason can turn into more specific reasons.