Environmental Group Pushes EPA on Chrome 6 Regulation
This week, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), joined by activist Erin Brockovich, sent a letter to EPA asking Administrator McCarthy to set a standard for hexavalent chromium “as soon as possible.” The letter indicated that the lack of a national MCL under the Safe Drinking Water Act is causing confusion among the states. This leads states to use, the letter contends, potentially unsafe guidelines; citing North Carolina as a state where the response to hexavalent chromium has been inadequate. The EWG has even been critical of California’s lowest-in-the-nation standard of 10 ug/L. EWG believes the California standard reflects an underestimate of the benefits and an overestimate of the water treatment costs. In their letter, the EWG blames industry delay tactics for the lack of a new standard. EPA has been conducting an Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment for the past few years. It was restarted in 2014 but no official completion date is available. The IRIS assessment information is available here. Get more information about the letter on the EWG website.