Washington, DC-
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) released the following statement today in response to guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to all water systems in the country regarding the development and implementation of monitoring and sampling programs specifically for chromium-6.
“Today's guidance is an important step toward understanding the problem of Chromium-6 in our drinking water,”
said Senator Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife. “Drinking water providers in Maryland and around the country look to EPA to tell them how they should best test for chromium-6 and today the agency came through for them. But monitoring is only the first step. Marylanders and citizens around the country are also looking to EPA to better understand what chromium-6 in drinking water means for their health and that of their families. I expect the agency will continue to work with great urgency to answer our questions. All Americans deserve clean and safe water.”
The guidance follows EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s commitment to address chromium-6 (also known as hexavalent chromium) in drinking water in the wake of emerging scientific evidence that chromium-6 could pose health concerns if consumed over long periods of time and an advocacy group report that found chromium-6 in 31 cities' drinking water –including Bethesda, Maryland–at levels above a California state proposed health goal.
