2010 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:27:42 -0800 (PST)
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: Re: [CPEO-MEF] CHROMIUM: Norman, Oklahoma and Tinker Air Force Base
 
Senators ask EPA to set chromium 6 standard

By NOAKI SCHWARTZ
The Associated Press/Washington Post
December 22, 2010

LOS ANGELES -- U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have called on the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the public from hexavalent chromium following a report that found the carcinogen in the tap water of 31 cities across the country.

In a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, Boxer, who chairs the Senate environment and public works committee, said she plans to introduce legislation with California colleague Feinstein that would set a deadline for the EPA to establish an enforceable standard for the chemical also known as chromium 6. The committee will also hold a hearing on the issue in February.

The letter was sent after the release of a study by the Environmental Working Group that analyzed drinking water in 35 cities across the country. The five cities with the highest levels of chromium 6 were Norman, Okla.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Riverside, Calif.; Madison, Wis.; and San Jose, Calif.

The chemical is commonly discharged from steel and pulp mills, metal-plating plants and leather-tanning facilities, the group said in the report.

"There are no enforceable federal standards to protect the public from hexavalent chromium in tap water," read the letter to EPA chief Lisa Jackson.

The EPA currently tests for total chromium levels but the letter said the tests do not show precise amounts of chromium 6. In addition, the agency's chromium standard is outdated because it was set nearly two decades ago, the letter said.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122105302.html


Lenny Siegel wrote:
[It's not clear from this article if anyone has evaluated whether Tinker Air Force Base is a possible source of Norman's high levels of hexavalent chromium, but it is mentioned. - LS]


EPA to help cities with water issues

By Andy Rieger
Norman Transcript (OK)
December 23, 2010

NORMAN - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it soon will issue guidance to all public water systems on how to test for and sample drinking water specifically for hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6.

The announcement by EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson follows Monday's release of a study showing traces of the potential carcinogen in 31 of 35 city water systems tested. Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said the city will pursue its own investigation on the source of chromium-6.

"The city of Norman looks forward to and welcomes the EPA's research efforts and technical assistance with respect to monitoring and testing. Meanwhile, we remain vigilant and will continue to pursue our own independent analysis of the particular source of chromium-6 in our area," she said.

...

Hexavalent chromium has been cited in the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality's Tinker Air Force Base Superfund Site history and background report. The cleanup site is in the northeast portion of Tinker where much rebuilding and refurbishing of aircraft took place.

...

For the entire article, see
http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x1473650941/EPA-likely-will-put-limits-on-chromium-6-in-drinking-water



--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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