Posts Tagged: hexavalent chromium

California calls dibs on nation’s first hexavalent chromium limit

A framework for the nation’s first-ever limit on how much cancerous hexavalent chromium can be in drinking water was released yesterday by state environmental officials in California, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Wyatt Buchanan.

The California Environmental Protection Agency set a goal of .02 parts-per-billion, and will now work with state public health authorities to set a legally enforceable limit. (more…)

Domestic discretionary spending alert: EPA might regulate cancer-causing metal

Lisa Jackson

Chicago will test for the metal hexavalent chromium in city water after Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson urged the nation’s public water systems to look for the carcinogen. The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Hawthorne reports that Jackson’s request could set the stage for national regulations. Last month the Environmental Working Group non-profit released a report that of 35 cities it studied, 31, including Chicago, had dangerous levels of the metal. (more…)

Will EPA regulatory power be watered down?

Here is an example of environmental regulation that, in a rational world, shouldn’t ruffle any feathers. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has promised to conduct a scientific review of the toxic metal hexavalent chromium, which has been found to be at possibly dangerous levels in tap water across the country. (more…)

Toxic water scare

Lisa Jackson

Illinois U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk will meet with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today regarding the toxic metal hexavalent chromium, which has been found in Chicago’s tap water. The Washington Post’s Lyndsey Layton reports that of 35 cities studied by the non-profit Environmental Working Group, Chicago is one of 31 with a dangerous level of hexavalent chromium. The metal is known to cause cancer in both humans and animals.

But what does “dangerous level of hexavalent chromium” mean? (more…)