The Environmental Working Group's (EWG) new findings mark a public flare-up in the behind-the-scenes battle over estimating the carcinogenicity of oral exposure to hexavalent chromium, also referred to as chromium-6. The draft EPA assessment released in September could pave the way for a national drinking-water standard for the chemical, best known for polluting groundwater in Hinkley, Calif., where activist Erin Brockovich won a multimillion-dollar settlement for locals and became a household name.
Hexavalent Chromium Found in Tap Water
The outcry over cancer cases in Hinkley helped push California to set a tap-water public health goal of 0.06 parts per billion (ppb) of chromium-6, an early move on the way to a binding state standard (Greenwire, Aug. 21, 2009). Of the 35 cities where EWG tested drinking supplies, 31 contained some level of chromium-6, and 25 -- including Washington, Los Angeles and Norman, Okla., where samples showed 12.9 ppb -- contained levels higher than the California goal.
Hexavalent Chromium Found in Tap Water
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