The One in Which We Find Out How Water Causes Cancer

A study by the Environmental Working Group has found that drinking water in 35 American cities contains hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen that was made famous by the film "Erin Brockovich."

The group found hexavalent chromium in the tap water of 31 out of 35 cities sampled. Of those, 25 had levels that exceeded the goal proposed in California, which has been trying aggressively to reduce the chemical in its water supply. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether to set a limit for hexavalent chromium in tap water. The agency is reviewing the chemical after the National Institutes of Health, deemed it a "probable carcinogen" in 2008. Hexavalent chromium has long been known to cause lung cancer when inhaled, and scientists recently found evidence that it causes cancer in laboratory animals when ingested. It has been linked in animals to liver and kidney damage as well as leukemia, stomach cancer and other cancers. A widely used industrial chemical until the early 1990s, hexavalent chromium still used in some industries, such as in chrome plating and the manufacturing of plastics and dyes. The chemical can also leach into groundwater from natural ores.

No word yet as to what we should do.

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California became the first state to limit the chemical in drinking water by proposing a "public health goal" of 0.06 parts per billion. These are the cities tested for the study:

Norman, Okla. - 12.9 ppb
Honolulu, Hi. - 2.00 ppb
Riverside, Calif. - 1.69 ppb
Madison, Wis. - 1.58 ppb
San Jose, Calif. - 1.34 ppb
Tallahassee, Fla. - 1.25 ppb
Omaha, Neb. - 1.07 ppb
Albuquerque, N.M. - 1.04 ppb
Pittsburgh, Pa. - 0.88 ppb
Bend, Ore. - 0.78 ppb
Salt Lake City, Utah - 0.30 ppb
Ann Arbor, Mich. - 0.21 ppb
Atlanta, Ga. - 0.20 ppb
Los Angeles, Calif. - 0.20 ppb
Bethesda, Md. - 0.19 ppb
Phoenix, Ariz. - 0.19 ppb
Washington, D.C - 0.19 ppb
Chicago, Ill. - 0.18 ppb
Milwaukee, Wis. - 0.18 ppb
Villanova, Pa. - 0.18 ppb
Sacramento, Calif. - 0.16 ppb
Louisville, Ky. - 0.14 ppb
Syracuse, N.Y. - 0.12 ppb
New Haven, Conn. - 0.08 ppb
Buffalo, N.Y. - 0.07 ppb
Las Vegas, Nev. - 0.06 ppb
New York, N.Y. - 0.06 ppb
Scottsdale, Ariz. - 0.05 ppb
Miami, Fla. - 0.04 ppb
Boston, Mass. - 0.03 ppb
Cincinnati, Ohio - 0.03 ppb
Indianapolis, Ind. - not detected
Plano, Texas - not detected
Reno, Nev. - not detected
San Antonio, Texas - not detected