High Chromium 6 Levels Found in Burbank Water

Tests of tap water at 11 public facilities in Burbank--including fire stations, libraries and schools--showed levels of chromium 6 as high as 9 parts per billion, more than 45 times the level suggested by a state agency, according to a study released Tuesday.

The tests recorded the highest level of the suspected carcinogen--9 parts per billion--at William McKinley Elementary School, Burbank High School and the city’s main library.

State health officials say those levels do not pose a threat, but experts are divided over acceptable limits of chromium 6, which is suspected of causing cancer and other illnesses.

The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has recommended a public health goal of 2.5 ppb for total chromium, which officials say would limit chromium 6 to 0.2 ppb.

That recommendation is under study by the state Department of Health Services, which has said it could take five years to adopt that recommendation because of the need to review the proposal and its impact.

The chromium 6 levels in Burbank disclosed Tuesday were slightly higher than results for tap water tests at 110 county facilities released last month by the Los Angeles County Toxicology Bureau. The county tests recorded the highest level of chromium 6--at 7.84 ppb--at the county Health Center in Burbank at 1101 W. Magnolia Blvd.

The Burbank City Council will review Tuesday’s results before determining what, if any, steps to take, said Councilwoman Stacey Murphy.

“This shows it’s a good thing we tested,” Murphy said.

Burbank and other local governments moved to conduct their own tests after The Times reported on delays in the state’s implementing of lower standards for chromium 6.

Decades of operation by defense contractors have made the east San Fernando Valley a hot zone for chemical contamination. Parts of Burbank, Glendale and North Hollywood were declared a federal Superfund cleanup site in 1986.