EPA’s Jackson Outlines New Chromium 6 Actions
The Environmental Protection Agency will take a number of actions in the coming days to address chromium 6 in drinking water, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced today.
The agency’s actions include working with state and local officials to determine the spread of chromium 6, issuing guidance to water systems on monitoring and testing, and offering technical assistance to communities with the highest levels of the contaminant.
“It is clear that the first step is to understand the prevalence of this problem,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement. “... EPA takes this matter seriously and we will continue to do all that we can, using good science and the law, to protect people’s health and our environment.”
The actions come in response to an Environmental Working Group report released Monday that found the compound in 31 cities nationwide. EPA’s current total chromium standard, which includes chromium 6, is 0.1 mg/L (100 parts per billion). The agency’s latest data shows no U.S. utilities are in violation of the standard.
In September, EPA released a draft risk assessment for chromium 6, to be reviewed by independent scientists and finalized in 2011. In a briefing with 10 U.S. senators yesterday, Jackson said that if the new science used in the draft risk assessment is verified by scientists, EPA will likely revise its drinking water regulations for chromium 6.
