Norton Calls EPA Administrator for a Meeting on Cancer-Causing Chemical in DC's Water

Norton Calls EPA Administrator for a Meeting on Cancer-Causing Chemical in D.C.'s Water

December 29, 2010

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton called Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson to ask her to come in for a meeting following the results of a recently released Environmental Working Group (EWG)-commissioned study, which found the chemical, chromium-6, in the drinking water of 31 cities, including Washington, D.C. Chromium-6, also known as hexavalent chromium or the "Erin Brockovich" chemical, is known to cause cancer when inhaled, has caused cancer in laboratory animals when ingested, and according to the EPA, is likely to be carcinogenic to humans when consumed in drinking water. The EPA is currently considering whether to set a limit for chromium-6 in tap water.

Norton said that she was very grateful for the study. However, she said, "It was truly discomforting to learn of yet another issue with the safety of the District's drinking water so soon after the lead-in-the water crises resurfaced in the city this past spring." In the Fall, Norton questioned witnesses at two hearings after a House Committee on Science and Technology subcommittee investigation found that, during D.C.'s lead-in-the-water crisis from 2001 to 2004, District children had elevated blood lead levels in 2002 and 2003 that were more than three times higher than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reported. The CDC confirmed the findings in a recent report. Norton also met with CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden. Federal and local agencies are following up to ensure that there was no permanent damage to residents.

However, Norton has many questions about this new finding, particularly the source of chromium-6 in the city's water, the amount of the chemical that was found, what can be done now, and whether the city's water is safe to drink. Norton will reintroduce her Lead-Free Drinking Water Act, which she introduced in 2004 in the wake of D.C.'s water crisis to address lead standards for the nation's drinking water.