Ray may be particularly interested in this story and data, given that
Norman, OK, shows the highest concentration of this particular
pollutant in it's water. I can't help but wonder about some US cities
that were not tested - New Orleans, in particular, since that city
obtains it's water supply from the Mississippi River (downriver from
hundreds of chemical plants and various factories).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/18/AR2010121802810.html
Probable carcinogen hexavalent chromium found in drinking water of 31
U.S. cities
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 19, 2010; 12:02 AM
An environmental group that analyzed the drinking water in 35 cities
across the United States, including Bethesda and Washington, found
that most contained hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen that
was made famous by the film "Erin Brockovich."
The study, which will be released Monday by the Environmental Working
Group, is the first nationwide analysis of hexavalent chromium in
drinking water to be made public.
It comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether
to set a limit for hexavalent chromium in tap water. The agency is
reviewing the chemical after the National Toxicology Program, part of
the National Institutes of Health, deemed it a "probable carcinogen"
in 2008.
The federal government restricts the amount of "total chromium" in
drinking water and requires water utilities to test for it, but that
includes both trivalent chromium, a mineral that humans need to
metabolize glucose, and hexavalent chromium, the metal that has caused
cancer in laboratory animals.
Last year, California took the first step in limiting the amount of
hexavalent chromium in drinking water by proposing a "public health
goal" for safe levels of 0.06 parts per billion. If California does
set a limit, it would be the first in the nation.
Hexavalent chromium was a commonly used industrial chemical until the
early 1990s. It is still used in some industries, such as in chrome
plating and the manufacturing of plastics and dyes. The chemical can
also leach into groundwater from natural ores.
The new study found hexavalent chromium in the tap water of 31 out of
35 cities sampled. Of those, 25 had levels that exceeded the goal
proposed in California.
The highest levels were found in Norman, Okla., where the water
contained more than 200 times the California goal. Locally, Bethesda
and Washington each had levels of 0.19 parts per billion, more than
three times the California goal.
The cities were selected to be a mix of big and smaller communities
and included places where local water companies had already detected
high levels of "total chromium."
"This chemical has been so widely used by so many industries across
the U.S. that this doesn't surprise me," said Erin Brockovich, whose
fight on behalf of the residents of Hinkley, Calif., against Pacific
Gas & Electric became the subject of a 2000 film. In that case, PG&E
was accused of leaking hexavalent chromium into the town's groundwater
for more than 30 years. The company paid $333 million in damages to
more than 600 townspeople and pledged to clean up the contamination.
"Our municipal water supplies are in danger all over the U.S.,"
Brockovich said. "This is a chemical that should be regulated."
Max Costa, who chairs the department of environmental medicine at New
York University's School of Medicine and is an expert in hexavalent
chromium, called the new findings "disturbing."
"At this point, we should strive to not have any hexavalent chromium
in drinking water" or at least limit the amounts to the level proposed
by California, Costa wrote in an e-mail.
Hexavalent chromium has long been known to cause lung cancer when
inhaled, but scientists only recently found evidence that it causes
cancer in laboratory animals when ingested. It has been linked in
animals to liver and kidney damage as well as leukemia, stomach cancer
and other cancers.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents the chemical
industry, says the California goal is unrealistic because some water
supplies have naturally occurring hexavalent chromium that is higher
than .06 parts per billion.
In a written statement, the group's senior director, Ann Mason, said
that "even the most sophisticated analytical methods used by EPA are
not able to detect the extremely low levels that California wants to
establish."
The group supports a "uniform, national standard for hexavalent
chromium in drinking water, based on sound science," Mason wrote.
"Research is underway to provide EPA with critical data that will
allow for a more informed risk assessment of hexavalent chromium. This
data will be complete by mid-2011. Given the potential impact on
drinking water supplies, EPA should incorporate this data in its
assessment."
Brendan Gilfillan, an EPA spokesman, said that the agency was aware of
the new study by the Environmental Working Group and that the findings
will be considered as the agency reviews total chromium in drinking
water, work that is expected to be completed next year.
Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, said that
water utilities across the country are resistant to the regulation.
"It's not their fault. They didn't cause the contamination. But if a
limit is set, it's going to be extraordinarily expensive for them to
clean this up," Cook said. "The problem in all of this is that we lose
sight of the water drinkers, of the people at the end of the tap.
There is tremendous push-back from polluters and from water utilities.
The real focus has to be on public health."
The report will be available Monday at www.ewg.org
Hexavalent chromium levels in a sampling of U.S. cities
Water supplies in 31 of 35 cities tested in 2009, including Bethesda
and the District, contained hexavalent chromium (Chromium-6), a
possible carcinogen featured in the film "Erin Brockovich."
More coverage: Study finds probable carcinogen in 31 U.S. cities' tap
water
Read the full Environmental Working Group study
City Chromium-6 level (parts per billion)
Norman, Okla. 12.90
Honolulu, Hawaii 2.00
Riverside, Calif. 1.69
Madison, Wisc. 1.58
San Jose, Calif. 1.34
Tallahassee, Fla. 1.25
Omaha, Neb. 1.07
Albuquerque, N.M. 1.04
Pittsburgh, Penn. 0.88
Bend, Ore. 0.78
Salt Lake City, Utah 0.30
Ann Arbor, Mich. 0.21
Atlanta, Ga. 0.20
Los Angeles, Calif. 0.20
Bethesda, Md. 0.19
Phoenix, Ariz. 0.19
Washington, D.C. 0.19
Chicago, Ill. 0.18
Milwaukee, Wisc. 0.18
Villanova, Penn. 0.18
Sacramento, Calif. 0.16
Louisville, Ky. 0.14
Syracuse, N.Y. 0.12
New Haven, Conn. 0.08
Buffalo, N.Y. 0.07
Las Vegas, Nev. 0.06
New York, N.Y. 0.06
Scottsdale, Ariz. 0.05
Miami, Fla. 0.04
Boston, Mass. 0.03
Cinncinnati, Ohio 0.03
Indianapolis, Ind. 0.00
Plano, Texas 0.00
Reno, Nev. 0.00
San Antonio, Texas 0.00
SOURCE: Environmental Working Group. By Greg Linch and Wilson
Andrews / The Washington Post - Dec. 20, 2010.
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