Hexavalent chromium
[9] Workers who are exposed to hexavalent chromium are at increased risk of developing lung cancer, asthma, or damage to the nasal epithelia and skin.
[11] According to Shi et al., the DNA can also be damaged by hydroxyl radicals produced during reoxidation of pentavalent chromium by hydrogen peroxide molecules present in the cell, which can cause double-strand breakage.
[11][14] Liver toxicity shows the body's apparent inability to detoxify chromium(VI) in the GI tract where it can then enter the circulatory system.
[11] Of 2,345 unsafe products in 2015 listed by the EU Commission for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality some 64% came from China, and 23% were clothing articles, including leather goods (and shoes) contaminated with hexavalent chromium.
"[19][20][21] For drinking water, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for hexavalent chromium.
[30] The leak went undetected for 30-minutes releasing 200 kg of chromium(VI) into the atmosphere exposing up to 20 workers at the plant and 70 nearby homes in Stockton.
[30] The town was not notified of the exposure until three days later on the Wednesday morning,[29] and sparked a major public controversy, with Orica criticized for playing down the extent and possible risks of the leak.
[30] In the initial report to WorkCover Orica did not disclose potential impacts on workers as well as that the substance emitted was chromium(VI).
[30] The original notification of residents in Stockton was only to households immediately downwind of the emission which failed to realize the potential for contamination of the surrounding area as well.
Tanneries in Hazaribagh Thana, an industrial neighborhood of Dhaka, emit around 21,600 cubic metres (760,000 cu ft) of toxic waste each day, and generate as much as 100 tonnes (110 tons) per day of scraps, trimmed raw hide, flesh and fat, which are processed into feed by neighborhood recycling plants and used in chicken and fish farms across the country.
Chromium levels ranging from 350–4,520 micrograms (0.35–4.52 mg) per kilogram were found in different organs of chickens which had been fed the tannery-scraps feed for two months, according to Abul Hossain, a chemistry professor at the University of Dhaka.
[36] In 2008, defense contractor KBR was alleged to have exposed 16 members of the Indiana National Guard, as well as its own workers, to hexavalent chromium at the Qarmat Ali water treatment facility in Iraq in 2003.
[37] Later, 433 members of the Oregon National Guard's 162nd Infantry Battalion were informed of possible exposure to hexavalent chromium while escorting KBR contractors.
[39] On November 2, 2012, a Portland, Oregon jury found KBR negligent in knowingly exposing twelve National Guard soldiers to hexavalent chromium while working at the Qarmat Ali water treatment facility and awarded damages of $85 million to the plaintiffs.
[41] A specific example was in 1969, when the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District imposed regulations on factories that were identified as having large amounts of heavy metal discharge.
The subsequent amendments provided a basis for the federal government to begin regulating pollutants, implementing wastewater standards, and increasing funding for water treatment facilities among other things.
[47] As of 2012[update], "no federal or state laws restrict the carcinogen's presence in drinking water," according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
[48] In December 2013, the NRDC won a lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health, and the state was required to issue a standard on the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for chromium by "no later than June 15, 2014.
Since World War II,[51] the United States Army relied on hexavalent chromium compounds to protect its vehicles, equipment, aviation and missile systems from corrosion.
[52][54] For their efforts on the wash primer replacement, the ARL researchers won the Secretary of the Army's "Award for Environmental Excellence in Weapon System Acquisition" for the 2016 fiscal year.
[20] Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District monitored airborne levels of hexavalent chromium at an elementary school and fire department, as well as the point-source.
[55] The County of Santa Cruz sought help of the Health Services Agency (HSA) to investigate the findings of the Air District's report.
[56] The city of Paramount created an action project that included more code enforcement to aid AQMD inspectors and the launch of ParamountEnvironment.org[57] to keep the public informed.
Hexavalent chromium was found in drinking water in the southern California town of Hinkley and was brought to popular attention by the involvement of Erin Brockovich and Attorney Edward Masry.
[59] In Chicago's first ever testing for the toxic metal contaminant, results show that the city's local drinking water contains levels of hexavalent chromium more than 11 times higher than the health standard set in California in July 2011.
Echoing their counterparts in other cities where the metal has been detected, Chicago officials stress that local tap water is safe and suggest that if a national limit is adopted, it likely would be less stringent than California's goal.
One of which is to work with the U.S. EPA to provide significant technical assistance to the City of Chicago to ensure they quickly develop an effective chromium(VI) specific monitoring program that makes use of the U.S. EPA-approved methods.
A report was conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), to evaluate the association between environmental exposures from the Cambridge Plating Company and health effects on the surrounding community.
[75][76] In July 2022, an employee at the automotive supply company Tribar Technologies overrode alarms, leading to the release of hexavalent chromium into the Wixom wastewater system.
[78] As of 2016[update], TCEQ had sampled water from 235 wells and has installed over 45 anion-exchange filtration systems from this site[78] determined to be centered at 2601 West County Road 112, Midland, Texas.
