Contact: Marie Francis (202) 249-6514
Email:
[email protected]
WASHINGTON (August 22, 2013)
- The California Department of Public Health today proposed a new maximum contaminant level (MCL) for hexavalent chromium in drinking water. The proposed MCL is 10 parts per billion (ppb).
The
Hexavalent Chromium Panel
of the American Chemistry Council released the following statement about the proposed MCL:
"Since California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) last revised the public health goal (PHG) for hexavalent chromium to 0.02 parts per billion (ppb), which the California Department of Public Health (DPH) considered in developing the proposed MCL, a series of 14 peer-reviewed papers have been
published
about the effects of exposure to low levels of hexavalent chromium in drinking water. These studies show that there was no observed toxicity in rodents exposed to concentrations of hexavalent chromium in drinking water at the current federal MCL of 100 ppb for total chromium or at the California MCL of 50 ppb for total chromium. The studies were conducted to meet information needs identified by the guidelines that both OEHHA and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) use to conduct their chemical assessments, including that for hexavalent chromium in drinking water.
"This research indicates that the proposed MCL in California is well below the level necessary to protect public health."
For more information about the latest research on hexavalent chromium in drinking water,
click here
.