Calif. Submits Safe Water Standard For Chromium-6

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California public health officials have submitted a safe drinking water standard for the cancer-causing chemical highlighted in the film "Erin Brockovich."

The new standard submitted Thursday by California Department of Public Health comes weeks after an Alameda County judge ordered officials to establish the safe drinking water standard for the chemical hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6.

State water quality tests conducted between 2000 and 2011 showed that about a third of 7,000 drinking water sources tested had hexavalent chromium levels at or above a preliminary benchmark set by the California EPA.

The new proposed regulations set the maximum level for chromium-6 at 10 parts per billion, five times less than current state standards and ten times less than federal standards.

Public comment on the new standard beings Aug. 23.

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