The toxin leaches into water either naturally or from industrial runoff. Chromium is an abundant element in Earth’s crust, found in rocks, plants, soil, volcanic dust, humans and animals, according to the non-profit American Water Works Association.
But research has linked chromium-6, created when chromium oxidizes, to stomach cancer. And the EPA reported in a draft risk assessment in 2010 that chromium-6 is likely to be carcinogenic to humans.
People trying to reduce their exposure to the contaminant at home can buy reverse osmosis systems for their faucets. But keep in mind that the national standard allows more chromium-6 than California does. So read the details carefully about just how much chromium-6 the system will weed out, said Andrew DiLuccia, spokesman for the California Water Resources Control Board.
The EPA has a limit for chromium, but the agency required water utilities serving more than 10,000 people to test specifically for its most harmful state, chromium-6, from 2013 to 2015. A small fraction of small systems were also required to test. The stuff turned up in more than 75 percent of the 60,000 water samples, according to the Environmental Working Group report.
The agency is considering establishing tighter limits for chromium-6 in drinking water, but cleanup costs nationwide may be a barrier. California is looking at a $20 million-per-year price tag just to meet its legal standard, according to an estimate by theCalifornia Department of Public Health.
Chromium-6 is one of many contaminants up for review for heavier standards. The EPA has put 81 compounds on that list since 1996 but has only set new limits for one, said Bill Walker, the managing editor at Environmental Working Group.
A goal of Monday’s report is to pressure the EPA to set new standards on chromium-6, he said. It was the group’s own testing in 2010 that pushed the agency to add chromium-6 to the 2013 to 2015 testing schedule.
But Walker said he didn’t know when or if the agency would act.
“They get lobbied. They’re getting heavy, heavy pressure from industry,” he said. “We would like to see EPA have a stronger stance toward favoring health as opposed to listening to the arguments of industry.”
The EPA would not comment on the specifics of the group’s report because staff there had yet to see it. The agency released a statement saying that the EPA is working on a “comprehensive evaluation of potential health effects” of chromium-6. A draft assessment will be released for public comment in 2017, the agency expects.
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Article Appeared @http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/20/erin-brockovich-toxin-drinking-water/90757898/