What's in your water?
A federal study about the health affects of ingesting chromium 6 found that high doses of the stuff in drinking water causes cancer in lab rodents, this according to a release from U.S. Rep Adam Schiff.
We here in Glendale have some of that stuff in a couple of groundwater wells, and city officials and the EPA have been working up a plan -- currently in testing phase -- to remove the industrial chemical.
An excerpt from my Oct. 13, 2006 story on the topic:
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Hexavalent chromium -- more commonly known as chromium 6 -- is a metal-finishing chemical that gained public attention in the Academy Award-winning film ``Erin Brokovich.'' The environmental crusader helped win a landmark settlement for residents of Hinckley who were sickened by chromium 6 contamination in the town's water supply.The chemical is a legacy of the defense and aviation industries that dotted Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley since the 1940s.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is still trying to determine the source of the local contamination, which also affects wells in North Hollywood and Burbank.
The contaminant appears in high concentrations at three of eight alluvial wells managed by Glendale Water & Power -- between 35 to 54 parts per billion as of July. One part per billion is about a drop of ink in an Olympic-size swimming pool.
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State law allows 50 ppb of the chemical in drinking water, with federal standards at 100 parts per billion. The Glendale City Council wants to further reduce that to 5 parts per billion.
Us folks here East of the 5 is living on Arrowhead deliveries. Click the following link to read Schiff's release:
Federal Study Called for by Schiff Reveals
Chromium 6 in Drinking Water can Cause Cancer
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff announced the release of a draft report of a federal cancer study of the health effects of ingesting chromium 6. In 2001, Rep. Schiff spearheaded a California delegation-wide effort to commission the study by the National Institutes of Health’s National Toxicology Program. The two year study found that high doses of chromium 6 in drinking water cause cancer in lab rodents.
“This study provides us with valuable information on the serious health risks associated with chromium 6 in drinking water,” said Schiff. “It offers definitive evidence that chromium 6 contaminated drinking water can cause cancer and highlights the need to ensure that our federal drinking water standards are up to date to keep Americans healthy and safe.”
Congressman Schiff cautioned that the doses of chromium 6 used in the study far exceeded the amounts found in drinking water. Nonetheless, this is the first extensive study of chromium 6 in drinking water, and it shows that chromium 6 may pose a real health risk.
The link between chromium 6 and cancer garnered national attention after the release of the movie “Erin Brockovich” in 2000. Congressman Schiff has long worked to keep chromium 6 out of drinking water, dating back to his work in the California State Senate. As a State Senator, he sponsored a bill requiring the California Department of Health Services to prepare a report on the amount of chromium 6 in the San Fernando Valley aquifer and the danger it poses to residents.
As a U.S. Congressman, he secured more than a million and a half dollars to develop technology capable of removing heavy metals such as chromium 6 from drinking water in Glendale.
He has also written to the EPA Administrator asking the EPA to determine whether a new, lower national public health standard is needed for chromium in drinking water. The national public standard is 100 parts per billion (ppb) of total chromium; California has established a standard of 50 ppb, and some health experts believe 2.5 ppb levels of chromium 6 are necessary to further protect public health.
Rep. Schiff was recently appointed to serve on the House Appropriations Committee in the 110th Congress and is a member of its Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee, the State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, and the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. He also serves on the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.
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