Senators ask EPA to set chromium 6 standard

Senators ask EPA to set chromium 6 standard

If the term hexavalent chromium sounds familiar, it is likely that you remember it from the very successful movie “Erin Brockovich” starring Julia Roberts. The 2000 movie was based on the true story of a town in California which won a multi-million dollar settlement against Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation who was found guilty of leaking this toxic compound, commonly referred to as chromium 6, into the water supply of the town.

While the EPA does monitor chromium levels in water supplies around the country, and has set a limit of no more than 100 parts per billion, there has not been a limit set, or a test mandated for, this specific type of chromium. According to reports by the Associated Press, there is now a push from congress towards putting these limits and associated tests in place. There will be a hearing in February to make a decision on the issue.

Medical studies indicate that chromium 6 is a cancer causing agent in addition to having the ability to cause severe damage to the liver, lymph nodes and the gastrointestinal tract. In the wake of the lawsuit in Hinkley, and the suffering of the residents poisoned by the chromium 6, the state of California took the initiative to set its own limits on the potentially deadly compound. In sharp contrast to the EPA levels for total chromium, California set a limit of just .06 parts per billion for hexavalent chromium.