The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

Did you know?

“Erin Brockovich” Chemical Detection

You may have heard that the special interest group ewg is reporting that Chromium 6, the “Erin Brockovich” chemical, (the culprit in the movie of the same name), is in the “tap water of 200 million Americans.” According to the Missouri Rural Water Association’s newsletter, ewg is talking about detects, not necessarily unsafe/contamination levels. The responsible thing to do is measure levels and know what is unacceptable before causing panic.

Here are tips to better understand Chromium 6 (hexavalent chromium):

Tip 1 – Chromium is an odorless and tasteless metallic element generated from natural deposits in soils as well as produced by industrial processes such as steel manufacturing and pulp mills.

Tip 2 – The EPA sets national drinking water standards and established a limit for total chromium of 100 parts per billion (ppb) in 1991 based on the best available science at the time. The total chromium limit includes all forms of chromium (e.g., chromium-3 and chromium-6).

Tip 3 – At least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink chromium-polluted tap water, much of it likely in the cancer-causing hexavalent form.


Click to see the data already collected by geography. Call us to sample your water supply for Chromium 6.