EPA Addresses Chromium(VI) In Drinking Water

EPA is working with state and local officials to determine the prevalence of chromium(VI) in drinking water, after a report from the Environmental Working Group showed widespread occurrence of the toxic chemical in tap water across the U.S. News of the advocacy group’s report raised concerns among several senators who met with EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on Dec. 21 to address the problem. After the meeting, Jackson pledged to issue guidance to all U.S. drinking water utilities to help them develop and implement programs for monitoring Cr(VI). Jackson told the senators that EPA is currently finalizing a new Cr(VI) risk assessment, which was prompted by science published in 2008 that showed a link between Cr(VI) ingestion and cancer. EPA released a draft of the risk assessment this past September and is expected to finalize the assessment later this year after it has been peer reviewed. On the basis of that draft assessment, “it is likely that EPA will tighten drinking water standards to address the health risks posed by Cr(VI),” Jackson told lawmakers.