What is Chromium and where is it found?

• Chromium is a naturally occurring element, the 11th most common in the earth's crust.
  
• Chromium is also an inorganic chemical that is used in many industrial processes including electroplating, wood treatment, pigments manufacture and cooling tower treatment for corrosion control.
  
• Chromium is found in air, soil, water, and food.
  
• According to the World Health Organization, food contributes about 93-98% of total chromium intake in humans while water contributes 1.9-7%.
  
• Foods with the highest concentrations of chromium include meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. Chrome-plated utensils used in the preparation of food may contribute to chromium levels.
  
• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), chromium may also enter water from plumbing fixtures in the home such as pipes or faucets.

What is Chromium VI?

• The two most common species of chromium are chromium III, an essential dietary nutrient, and chromium VI, which can be toxic.

How much Chromium is in California water?

• About 1% of water systems have detected total chromium, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Of the 1%, about 95% are groundwater sources and 5% are surface water sources.
• Chromium VI has been found in drinking water at locations in southern, central, and northern California. The levels of chromium VI found ranged from non-detectable to 34 ppb.

What is the drinking water standard for Chromium VI?

• There is currently no existing drinking water standard for chromium VI. There are, however, federal and state standards for total chromium in drinking water. The U.S. EPA has established a national drinking water standard for total chromium of 100 ppb and the California standard for total chromium is 50 ppb.

What is a Public Health Goal and is there one for chromium VI?

• A Public Health Goal (PHG) is a health risk assessment, not a proposed drinking water standard. The PHG is the estimated level below which a contaminant will cause no adverse health effects over a lifetime of exposure.
• The PHG is just one factor considered in the setting of a drinking water standard. CDPH sets drinking water standards and it also considers analytical capabilities, treatment feasibility, and cost.
• In July 2011, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment published a public health goal (PHG) of 0.02 ppb for chromium VI.
  
  

What is being done to address Chromium VI in drinking water?

• The Safe Drinking Water Act requires rigorous scientific approach for evaluating contaminants for regulation. The USEPA is currently looking at new health effects data on hexavalent chromium. The process should be completed in late 2011, and results will inform future regulatory actions.
• Water utilities throughout the state have begun sampling for the presence of chromium VI in drinking water and reporting results to local and state officials.
• Helix Water District has monitored for Cr VI and none has been detected.