At Least 42 PA Towns, Agencies Have Drinking Water Toxin Made Famous By Erin Brockovich: Study

At least 42 Pennsylvania communities have the cancer-causing toxin in their drinking water that was made famous in the 2000 Julia Roberts movie "Erin Brockovich," according to a new study published Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group. (See list below)

Although the water provided by local agencies does not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection's maximum of 100 parts per billion of total chromium, it does exceed 0.02 parts per billion, a level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set as a public health goal in 2011, the study explains. That level "would pose negligible risk over a lifetime of consumption," according to the study.

The toxin Chromium-6 can cause cancer, reproductive problems and liver damage even from little exposure, the report says.

California's public health goal was set after Brockovich was nearly successful in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993 that blamed the company for contaminating local water. The actual legal cap in California is 10 parts per billion.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment, analyzed federal data from nationwide drinking water tests showing that the compound contaminates water supplies for more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states.

"Yet federal regulations are stalled by a chemical industry challenge that could mean no national regulation of a chemical state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer when ingested at even extraordinarily low levels," according to the report.

The Environmental Working Group estimates that if left untreated, Chromium-6 in tap water will cause more than 12,000 excess cases of cancer by the end of the century.

The EPA issued a statement on chromium in drinking water, saying "ensuring safe drinking water for all Americans is a top priority for EPA." The agency says it has taken many actions to improve information on chromium and its potential health risks in drinking water.

"EPA is actively working on the development of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of hexavalent chromium, which will include a comprehensive evaluation of potential health effects associated with hexavalent chromium, and EPA expects that the draft IRIS assessment will be released for public comment in 2017," the statement said.

Here is the list of towns, water commissions or countywide agencies that exceeded the report's acceptable level of Chromium-6 in tap water (0.02 parts per billion): (A full map with testing averages and further information can be found here.)

• Allentown City Bureau of Water
• Altoona
• Beaver Falls
• Bucks County - BCWSA Main - Lower South
• Cabot - Aqua PA - Main System
• Cheltenham - Aqua PA - Main System
• Chester Water Authority
• Conshohocken - Aqua PA - Main System
• Drexel Hill - Aqua PA - Main System
• East Goshen - Aqua PA - Main System
• Easton Area Water System
• Fort Washington - Aqua PA - Main System
• Hampton Shaler Water Authority
• Harleysville-North Penn Water Authority
• Harrisburg
• Hatfield-North Penn Water Authority
• Lancaster
• Lansdale-North Penn Water Authority
• Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority
• Malvern - Aqua PA - Main System
• Media - Aqua PA - Main System
• Nether Providence - Aqua PA - Main System
• New Britain-North Penn Water Authority
• Norristown - PA American Water Co.
• North Wales Water Authority
• Oreland - Aqua PA - Main System
• Paoli - Aqua PA - Main System
• Philadelphia Water Department
• Pittsburgh
• Reading Area Water Authority
• Sellersville-North Penn Water Authority
• Souderton-North Penn Water Authority
• Springfield - Aqua PA - Main System
• State College Borough Water Authority
• Tredyffrin - Aqua PA - Main System
• Upper Merion - Aqua PA - Main System
• West Whiteland - Aqua PA - Main System
• Westmoreland Mun. Auth. - Sweeney Plant
• Wilkes Barre Area - PA American Water Co. - Ceasetown
• Williamsport
• Willow Grove - Aqua PA - Main System
• York

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, before the EPA can decide whether to regulate a contaminant, it must meet three criteria:

• The contaminant may have an adverse effect on the health of persons;
• is known to occur or there is a substantial likelihood that the contaminant will occur in public water systems with a frequency and at levels of public health concern; and
• in the sole judgment of the EPA Administrator, the regulation of the contaminant presents a meaningful opportunity for health risk reductions for persons served by public water systems.

The EPA's drinking water standard of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for total chromium includes all forms of chromium, including hexavalent chromium.

Read the full report at the Environmental Working Group website here.

Patch file photo