Schiff pushing for answers on chromium 6

Buck Wargo and Paul Clinton

BURBANK -- State Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) wants to talk about

chromium in the ground water.

Schiff, who is pushing state lawmakers to fast track a study on the

effects of chromium 6 in the drinking water of Burbank and neighboring

communities, said Thursday he plans to hold a public hearing on the issue

in Burbank in October.

On Friday, a bill introduced by Schiff two days earlier passed the

Legislature that would compel the State Department of Public Health to

complete a study by January 2002 to determine whether levels of chromium

in drinking water taken from the San Fernando Basin aquifer should be

reduced. The bill would also require public water systems to determine

levels of hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6.

After passing the Legislature Friday, Schiff’s bill is headed to Gov.

Gray Davis’ desk. The governor has until Sept. 30 to sign it. Los Angeles

County Supervisor Mike Antonovich also annouced Friday that he would urge

his colleagues to order countywide testing of drinking water at their

Sept. 5 meeting.

Despite the presence of the known carcinogen in ground water,

officials have insisted that Burbank’s water supply -- which is blended

with water from the Metropolitan Water District and treated locally -- is

safe.

In 1998, the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

proposed reducing accepted levels of chromium to 2.5 parts per billion in

drinking water. The state now permits 50 parts per billion, half the

national standard of 100 parts per billion.

State Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), who heads the senate’s Health

and Human Services committee, has agreed to join Schiff at the hearing.

State health officials have said it could take up to five more years

to implement the 1998 proposal. The risks of hexavalent chromium, a known

carcinogen, in drinking water are still being studied.

Chromium 6 accounts for a portion of the total chromium. Cities

currently test for levels of total chromium.

“I am concerned about the high levels of chromium 6 in the water

supply,” Schiff said. “They are evidently higher than anticipated, and we

ought to have an accelerated study on whether this poses a health risk.

Five years is totally unacceptable.”

Lea Brooks, a spokesman for the Department of Health Services, said

her office has not taken a position on the bill. The department is

drafting regulations to monitor the toxin, she said.

“It is a very lengthy process,” Brooks said. “A lot of steps need to

be taken. ... We don’t know how big a problem it is yet. That is the

first step in the whole process.”

The state Regional Water Quality Control Board announced last week it

was launching an investigation to identify companies responsible for

chromium contamination.

Burbank Public Service Department employees test for total chromium

and hexavalent chromium in ground water wells. The toxin has been

detected as high as 29 parts per billion for chromium 6 and 50 parts per

billion for total chromium. One well registered a 110 parts-per-billion

reading three years ago.

Public Service Director Ron Davis said he supported Schiff’s efforts

and urged state health officials to offer more research from medical

experts to back up their 2.5-parts-per-billion recommendation.

“It’s a well intentioned response, but it doesn’t have a lot of data,”

Davis said. “It’s a thin study.”