![]() 02 ppb - 1/500th the state’s mandate.ĮWG’s analysis, displayed in an interactive map, found 1,370 U.S. But public health researchers based in in the state wanted a much lower goal of. Then in 2014, California became the first state to put a cap on chromium-6 in drinking water, settling on a value of 10 parts per billion. In 1991, the EPA set a regulation for total chromium, but that includes chromium-3, which is a naturally occurring chemical and essential human nutrient. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies chromium-6 as a known carcinogen, there is no federal standard on the maximum amount of chromium-6. In 2014, California became the first state to put a cap on chromium-6 in drinking water. “The difficulty with chromium-6 is how to set a standard to protect human health during windows of development,” Andrews said.Įven in small amounts, chromium-6 can cause skin burns, pneumonia, complications during childbirth and stomach cancer. Pollution can occur when these industrial sites fail to follow proper waste disposal methods, such as with unlined coal ash ponds. “Americans deserve to know if there are potentially harmful levels of a cancer-causing chemical in their tap water,” David Andrews, a senior scientist at EWG and co-author of the report, told the PBS NewsHour.Ĭhromium-6 occurs naturally in the environment, but high quantities are also produced by industrial projects. They found chromium-6 at levels deemed unsafe by public health officials. ‡MCL (maximum contaminant level) enforceable level for drinking water.Chromium-6, the cancer-causing chemical best known for its role in the Erin Brockovich story, has been found at higher-than-recommended levels in the tap water supplying two-thirds of all Americans, according to a report from the Environmental Working Group.ĮWG, a nonprofit research organization, analyzed Environmental Protection Agency data on more than 60,000 samples collected at water utilities in all 50 states between 20. †PEL (permissible exposure limit): highest level of chromium in air, to which a worker may be exposed, averaged over an 8-hour workday. *TWA (time-weighted average): TWA concentration for a normal workday and a 40-hour workweek to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed. Regulation current MCL‡ for total chromium PEL for chromium metal and insoluble compounds (8-hour TWA)Ĭhromium is listed as a hazardous pollutant PEL for Cr(II) and Cr(III) compounds (8-hour TWA) Regulation PEL† for chromic acid and chromates, (8-hour TWA) Occupational Safety and Health Administration National Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthĪdvisory TWA (10-hour) for chromic acid and all Cr(VI) compoundsĪdvisory TWA (10-hour) for chromium metal and Cr(II) and Cr(III) compounds TWA for chromium metal and Cr(III) compounds Regulations and Guidelines for Chromium AgencyĪmerican Conference of Governmental Industrial HygienistsĪdvisory TWA* to avoid carcinogenic risk from insoluble Cr(VI) compounds On the basis of current evidence, NIOSH considers all Cr(VI) compounds potential occupational carcinogens. For chromium metal and Cr (II) and Cr(III) compounds, the recommended exposure limit is 500 µg/m³ as an 10-hour TWA. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended a 10-hour TWA exposure limit for all Cr(VI) compounds of 1 µg Cr(VI)/m³. ![]() For chromium metal and for insoluble compounds, the PEL is 1,000 µg Cr/m³. ![]() įor Cr(II) and Cr(III) compounds, the PEL is an 8-hour TWA of 500 µg Cr/m³. start-up dates that include four years for the implementation of engineering controls to meet the PEL.preferred exposure control methods, including a compliance alternative for a small sector for which the new PEL is infeasible,.requirements for exposure determination,.The final rule also contains ancillary provisions for worker protection such as The record also indicates that occupational exposure to Cr(VI) may result in asthma and damage to the nasal epithelia and skin. The evidence in the record for this rulemaking indicates that workers exposed to Cr(VI) are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer. OSHA’s standard is based upon the best evidence currently available that at the previous PEL for Cr(VI), workers face a significant risk to material impairment of their health. This is a considerable reduction from the previous permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 52 µg/m³. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) exposure limit of 5 micrograms of Cr(VI) per cubic meter of air (5 µg/m³). ![]()
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