“More than 20 years ago, we learned that this risky chemical poisoned the tap water of California communities, and now these tests and EWG’s report show that roughly 218 million Americans are being served drinking water polluted with potentially unsafe levels of this known carcinogen”, Brockovich said in EWG’s press release.
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To view individual county and city results of the Chromium-6 water testing visit EWG’s interactive map here: http://bit.ly/2d4DgyH.
The EPA did not directly address the report, but did say the agency is working on a healthy assessment of chromium-6. Houston water samples showed Chromium-6 levels to be on average 0.747 parts per billion.
California is the only state to regulate the chemical to date.
“That’s the minimal risk level”, Andrews said.
Two percent of the water systems studied by the Environmental Working Group contained drinking water that exceeded 10 ppb.
Sparta Mayor Christine Quinn, in an email to the New Jersey Herald, noted Thursday that the Environmental Working Group that produced the report is itself an advocacy organization that favors considerably stricter standards.
But research has linked chromium-6, created when chromium oxidizes, to stomach cancer.
Chromium-6 gained national attention in the 1990s when then-legal clerk Erin Brockovich helped residents in Hinkley, Calif., settle a massive case against Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
However, there is no specific federal limit for chromium-6.
Chromium-6 or Hexavalent Chromium, a naturally occurring element found in rocks, animals and soil is found to be a carcinogen.
Roberto Gwiazda, a former researcher at the University of California-Santa Cruz, was an official reviewer the 0.02 ppb public health goal established in 2011.
According to Gillespie’s article, elevated levels of chromium were also found in Jefferson, Shelby, Spencer, Bullitt and Hardin counties, with the lowest levels found in Henry, Washington, Jessamine, Carter and Calloway counties. In Burlington County, the number was 43 percent.
“It’s really concerning that the EPA hasn’t taken steps to make sure all drinking water across the United States is safe”, the group said. A ppb measurement is equal to 1 microgram per liter.
In Seguin, Chromium-6 was found in 11 out of 12 tap water samples between 2014 and 2015.
“Please note that the EPA standard is 100 parts per billion and we fall extremely below that level”, Ash said.
In the other Bucks and Montgomery authorities, samples ranged from 1 to 1.8 ppb.
The toxin leaches into water either naturally or from industrial runoff. “The average chromium-6 level in Aqua Pennsylvania is 0.23 ppb with a maximum detection of 2.6 ppb and a minimum of 0.03 ppb”.
“Goal” is a key word there: The EPA’s total chromium limit is 5,000 times the health goal, and based on preventing skin reactions.
Alston said identifying low amounts of chromium-6 is also hard because results easily can be distorted depending on testing conditions.
A small fraction of small systems were also required to test.
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A national water quality study has revealed that many drinking water samples from Long Island and CT have tested positive for the toxin, chromium-6, made famous in the film “Erin Brokovich”. There is no national standard or health advisory level for Chromium-6; there is a national standard for total chromium, which is 100 ppb. “If U.S. EPA sets a national health standard for drinking water, OH will move quickly to adopt this standard to protect Ohioans”.
