Study: US Water Has Large Amounts of Carcinogen

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waterA US environmental group has found that drinking water in 35 American cities contains hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen, The Washington Post reported today.

The study by the Environmental Working Group — the first nationwide analysis measuring the presence of the chemical in US water systems — is to be made public on Monday, the daily reported.

The group found hexavalent chromium in the tap water of 31 out of 35 cities sampled. Of those, 25 had levels that exceeded the goal proposed in California, which has been trying aggressively to reduce the chemical in its water supply.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether to set a limit for hexavalent chromium in tap water. The agency is reviewing the chemical after the National Institutes of Health, deemed it a “probable carcinogen” in 2008.

Hexavalent chromium has long been known to cause lung cancer when inhaled, and scientists recently found evidence that it causes cancer in laboratory animals when ingested. It has been linked in animals to liver and kidney damage as well as leukemia, stomach cancer and other cancers.

A widely used industrial chemical until the early 1990s, hexavalent chromium still used in some industries, such as in chrome plating and the manufacturing of plastics and dyes. The chemical can also leach into groundwater from natural ores.

The chemical compound was first made famous in 2000 when a film was released about the eponymous environmental crusader Erin Brockovich who also commented on the EWG’s alarming finding.

“This chemical has been so widely used by so many industries across the US that this doesn’t surprise me,” said Brockovich, known for her fight on behalf of the residents of Hinkley, California against Pacific Gas & Electric.

In that case, PG&E was accused of leaking hexavalent chromium into the town’s groundwater for more than 30 years, and ultimately was made to pay 333 million dollars in damages to more than 600 inhabitants of the town, which it was required to clean up.

“Our municipal water supplies are in danger all over the US,” Brockovich told The Post. “This is a chemical that should be regulated.”

{Yahoo News/Matzav.com}


2 COMMENTS

  1. The fact that many cities flouridate their water supply is also a cause for concern. Flouride is extremely harmful and no one seems to care about it. They even put it in bottled water and water for babies too! It is an industrial by product that they didn’t know how to get rid of until someone came up with the brilliant idea of foisting on the unsuspecting public in the water supply, claiming it was good for teeth. It was used by the nazis as a poison. You can research this subject on many websites.

  2. Fluoride is not harmful if administered in the correct amounts (or concentration). Any compound is harmful in excessive amounts. Pure distilled water will kill you if you drink enough of it. To say Fluoride is harmful as a blanket statement can simply be defined as stupidity. Fluoride is a naturally occurring element and is beneficial in small amounts. If you want to test for Fluoride in your drinking water go to http://www.drinkingwatertesting.com

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