Regulation of Chromium in Drinking Water
There is currently no enforceable regulation in place concerning the acceptable levels of Hexavalent Chromium 6 in drinking water in the United States.In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law requires the EPA to determine the level of contaminants in drinking water at which no adverse health effects are likely to occur. The EPA has set a regulation for chromium (total) at 0.1 mg/L or 100 ppb.
The State of California, the only state to require tap water tests for hexavalent chromium, has proposed, but not yet enacted, a more stringent limit of 0.1 parts per billion of Chromium that is allowable in drinking water.
On January 26, 2011 Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) as an original co-sponsor, introduced legislation in the 112th Congress to protect children and families from dangerous toxins in drinking water. S. 79, Protecting Pregnant Women and Children from Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water would establish a deadline for EPA to set an enforceable drinking water safeguard for hexavalent chromium.
