Drinking water in US cities carcinogenic

December 20, 2010

WASHINGTON (AFP) A US environmental group has found that drinking water in 35

American cities contains hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen, The

Washington Post reported Sunday.

The study by the Environmental Working Group -- the first nationwide analysis

measuring the presence of the chemical in US water systems --is to be made

public on Monday, the daily reported.

The group found hexavalent chromium in the tap water of 31 out of 35 cities

sampled. Of those, 25 had levels that exceeded the goal proposed in California,

which has been trying aggressively to reduce the chemical in its water supply.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether to set a

limit for hexavalent chromium in tap water. The agency is reviewing the chemical

after the National Institutes of Health, deemed it a " probable carcinogen " in

2008.

Hexavalent chromium has long been known to cause lung cancer when inhaled, and

scientists recently found evidence that it causes cancer in laboratory animals

when ingested. It has been linked in animals to liver and kidney damage as well

as leukemia, stomach cancer and other cancers.

A widely used industrial chemical until the early 1990s, hexavalent chromium

still used in some industries, such as in chrome plating and the manufacturing

of plastics and dyes. The chemical can also leach into groundwater from natural

ores.

The chemical compound was first made famous in the hit 2000 Hollywood movie

" Brockovich " about the eponymous environmental crusader who also commented

on the EWG's alarming finding.

" This chemical has been so widely used by so many industries across the US that

this doesn't surprise me, " said Brockovich, known for her fight on behalf of the

residents of Hinkley, California against Pacific Gas & Electric.

In that case, PG & E was accused of leaking hexavalent chromium into the town's

groundwater for more than 30 years, and ultimately was made to pay 333 million

dollars in damages to more than 600 inhabitants of the town, which it was

required to clean up.

" Our municipal water supplies are in danger all over the US, " Brockovich told

The Post. " This is a chemical that should be regulated. "

Recommended Posts