Chromium 6 Dangers
* Re “Tests Find High Chromium 6 Levels Throughout County,” Oct. 5: The government officials you quote should be clear about the difference between “safe” water and “acceptable” risk. “Safe” water does not contain contaminants such as chromium 6. Water that meets regulatory standards is not necessarily “safe.”
Safety is a concept rooted in scientific fact. The “acceptability” of the risk we take in drinking water containing chromium 6 is a moral judgment made by environmental regulators and water suppliers. They make the moral judgment that an estimated one-in-a-million chance of cancer is acceptable. The burden must be on polluters, regulators and water suppliers to prove that, at minimum, chromium 6 does not create an “unacceptable” risk. Until such proof exists, we should err on the side of caution.
JOSEPH K. LYOU
Los Angeles
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