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California moves toward stringent chromium 6 standard for drinking water

Posted by: Maven on August 21, 2009 at 8:56 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“California has taken the first step in the nation toward setting maximum drinking-water levels for the cancer-causing chemical made famous by the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich.”

After a controversial decade of study on the health effects of hexavalent chromium, or chromium 6, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment on Thursday proposed a level of 0.06 parts per billion for the heavy metal. Regular drinking water exposure below that level would qualify as “negligible risk,” according to researchers.

The proposal, which is subject to further review and public comment, is not an enforceable standard. However, it represents the initial step in developing a statewide chromium 6 ceiling for drinking water under the Department of Public Health – a criteria probably several years in the making. That, in turn, would give authorities the power to order cleanup of contaminated drinking water sources. …”

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“Also known as hexavalent chromium, the heavy metal is one of a number of industrial contaminants in the San Fernando Valley aquifer, a source of drinking water for Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale.

The communities now cut chromium levels by blending local groundwater with imported supplies. But the target concentrations proposed by the state are so low that sophisticated treatment would be necessary to meet them.

“We’d have to treat for it or we can’t use the groundwater,” said Bill Mace, an assistant general manager at Burbank Water and Power, which gets 40% to 50% of its supplies from the valley aquifer.

Mace called the draft public health goal “shockingly low.”

Released by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the goal will be used to set a state standard for chromium 6. But that process will probably take several more years and “it’s possible the eventual standard would be higher,” said Sam Delson, deputy director for external and legislative affairs. …”

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

From the Sacramento Bee:

“Well testing has found chromium 6 to be pervasive in California, with high levels in some wells – not necessarily active drinking wells – in many major cities. The city of Davis and UC Davis also have found high levels in wells.

The draft public health goal for chromium 6 is 0.06 parts per billion. A public health goal is reached after rigorous study, which in this case found that the substance caused tumors in mice ingesting it in water. The draft goal is based on an estimate that for every 1 million people who drink two liters of water with that level daily for 70 years, one person would be expected to develop cancer.

Drinking water containing levels exceeding a public health goal can still be considered acceptable for public consumption, according to the news release. …”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

“The proposal will next go through a 45-day comment period and isn’t expected to be made final for more than a year, Delson said. Once a health goal is made final, another agency — the California Department of Public Health — will decide on a legal limit for public water supplies.

It’s too early to say how water providers will be affected because the number could change during the review process, said Kurt Berchtold, assistant director of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Meeting the proposal would be an ambitious task. Water testing done now can’t detect the chemical below 1 part per billion so new tests would be needed.

Moreover, of 12,000 wells tested in California, 2,200 had hexavalent chromium levels of 1 part per billion or more, Delson said. About 770 of these wells were 6 parts per billion or higher — 100 times the level of proposed health goal. …”

More from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.

August 21, 2009 · Filed Under Drinking Water & Bottled Water

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