Warnings Are Sought for Chromium

Four state lawmakers will urge the state Department of Health Services today to issue an “action level” for total chromium, which would require water utilities to give public notice when the chemical exceeds certain levels in drinking water supplies.

The recommendation, if adopted by the department, would recognize a public health goal of 2.5 parts per billion for total chromium. Currently, the state allows up to 50 parts per billion for total chromium.

“The action level sends a message that the state believes there are potentially serious health risks associated with heightened levels of chromium 6,” said state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who will be sworn in as a congressman Jan. 3. “And that water agencies should not rely on the higher state standard to justify inaction on dealing with this problem.”

Chromium 6, a toxic byproduct of total chromium, is a suspected cause of cancer and other illnesses. The state sets levels for total chromium as a means of ensuring low levels of chromium 6.

David Spath, drinking water chief for the state Department of Health Services, disputed the need to set an action level for total chromium.

“Right now, water systems should follow the 50 parts per billion maximum contaminant level for chromium and be monitoring chromium 6,” Spath said. “But it’s not an acute health risk by any means.”

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Spath said his agency has already sent out letters urging the state’s 3,400 water systems to test for chromium 6 and other chemicals. The agency still is drafting emergency regulations to be put in place by early next year that could require those tests.

The agency is also considering adopting a separate standard for chromium 6, although health officials are still debating the threat the chemical poses in drinking water.

Los Angeles-area wells pumped for drinking water generally meet current state standards, but many would exceed the 2.5 ppb limit for total chromium proposed by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment.

In a recent survey of wells in north Los Angeles County, for example, all 44 wells tested exceeded 2.5 ppb of total chromium. Chromium 6 levels reached as high as 17.6 ppb.

The lawmakers plan to call for the action level at a news conference today at Burbank City Hall. In addition to Schiff, the proposal is backed by state Sens. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) and Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena), who has been elected to the state Senate.

The move follows a legislative hearing last month in Burbank at which health experts said studies have shown chromium 6 to be a carcinogen when inhaled, and is thus likely to be a carcinogen when ingested in water as well. East Valley wells have relatively high chromium and chromium 6 levels, a legacy of aerospace manufacturing.

If the action level is adopted by the state health officials, water suppliers would be urged to get as close as possible to the state’s public health goal of 2.5 ppb.

Water agencies also would have to notify local city councils and customers when total chromium exceeds 2.5 ppb.

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In addition to efforts to build awareness about chromium 6, the lawmakers will announce they are pursuing a new technology to cleanse water supplies of chromium 6 as well as other chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium, according to Ortiz aide John Miller.

The process, known as “co-precipitation,” uses iron filings to bind with the heavy metals before removing all the contaminants through sand filters, said Kip Wiley, a consultant to the state Senate Office of Research. Wiley said the legislators want health officials to investigate the viability of using such a system in California.

State lawmakers got involved in the issue after The Times reported Aug. 20 that the state Department of Health Services had not acted on the proposed public health goal, first suggested in 1998, and that implementation could take another five years.

In response, the Legislature and Gov. Gray Davis enacted SB 2127, requiring the state health department to determine chromium 6 levels in drinking water supplied by San Fernando Valley aquifers, assess the risk to the public and report its findings to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2002. Officials say the findings will have impact statewide.