An environmental group analyzed the drinking water in 35 cities across the United States,discovering that most contained hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen that was made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich."
The results of the study, by the Environmental Working Group, is the first nationwide analysis of hexavalent chromium in drinking water to be made public.
This is being released as the Environmental Protection Agency is deciding whether to set a limit for hexavalent chromium in tap water.
Back in the early 1990s Hexavalent chromium was a commonly used industrial chemical and is still used in some industries, such as in chrome plating and the manufacturing of plastics and dyes.
The concern is, the chemical can leach into groundwater from natural ores.
The new study found hexavalent chromium in the tap water of 31 out of 35 cities sampled.
"This chemical has been so widely used by so many industries across the U.S. that this doesn't surprise me," said Erin Brockovich, (above photo) who fought on behalf of the residents of Hinkley, Calif., 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. The company paid $333 million in damages to more than 600 people and pledged to clean up the contamination.
"Our municipal water supplies are in danger all over the U.S.," Brockovich said. "This is a chemical that should be regulated."
Max Costa, with the department of environmental medicine at New York University's School of Medicine and is an expert in hexavalent chromium, called the new findings "disturbing."
"At this point, we should strive to not have any hexavalent chromium in drinking water" or at least limit the amounts to the level proposed by California, Costa wrote in an e-mail.
Hexavalent chromium has long been known to cause lung cancer when inhaled, but scientists only 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.
Brendan Gilfillan, an EPA spokesman, said that the agency was aware of the new study by the Environmental Working Group and that the findings will be considered as the agency reviews total chromium in drinking water, work that is expected to be completed next year.
Ken Cook president of the Environmental Working Group, said that water utilities across the country are resistant to the regulation.
"It's not their fault. They didn't cause the contamination. But if a limit is set, it's going to be extraordinarily expensive for them to clean this up," Cook said. "The problem in all of this is that we lose sight of the water drinkers, of the people at the end of the tap. There is tremendous push-back from polluters and from water utilities. The real focus has to be on public health."
The report will be available Monday at www.ewg.org
Here are the cities:
1. Norman, Oklahoma
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
3. Riverside, California
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. San Jose, California
6. Tallahasse
Here are the cities:
1. Norman, Oklahoma
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
3. Riverside, California
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. San Jose, California
6. Tallahasse
7. Omaha, Nebraska
8. Albuquerqu
9. Pittsburgh
10. Bend, Oregon
11. Salt Lake City, Utah
12. Ann Arbor, Michigan
13. Atlanta, Georgia
14. Los Angeles, California
15. Bethesda, Maryland
16. Phoenix, Arizona
17. Washington
18. Chicago, Illinois
19. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
20. Villanova, Pennsylvan
21. Sacramento
22. Louisville
23. Syracuse, New York
24. New Haven, Connecticu
25. Buffalo, New York
26. Las Vegas, Nevada
27. New York, New York
28. Scottsdale
29. Miami, Florida
30. Boston, Massachuse
31. Cincinnati