Chromium

When Clark Magnet High School student Saro Meguerdijian learned last spring about the presence of hexavalent chromium in local groundwater, he began mentally working through a solution. Hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing carcinogen also known as chromium 6, cannot be removed from water with a traditional filter. "I realized that while standard filtration might fail to remove miniscule hexavalent chromium ions, a negatively charged surface, which would be sticky to positive ions, could remove hexavalent chromium ions," Saro said.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has concluded an investigation into contamination on the site of the Walt Disney Studios, a senior board official said. The agency's decision comes a day after the Los Angeles Times reported that the board, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was investigating whether a vintage air conditioning system and cooling towers at Disney were the source of groundwater and soil contamination from chromium 6, a cancer-causing heavy metal.

Glendale Water & Power on Wednesday announced that it had received $400,000 to continue its work in testing two methods for stripping underground water of chromium 6. The utility has been the lead agency in a coalition of stakeholders testing two high-tech methods for stripping underground contaminated with the cancer-causing element left behind largely by the San Fernando Road corridor's former aerospace manufacturing industry. The latest grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation.

Glendale Water & Power has started testing a new filtration method to strip chromium 6 from groundwater and plans to start the process for other techniques next month. Previous methods have had some drawbacks, prompting the fresh approaches. Filtration adds an extra step to current testing, but the others, which include using resins and absorption technology to suck out the cancer-causing contaminant, are new ventures. “We're blazing the trail here,” said Charles Cron, plant manager at a chromium 6 testing facility in northwest Glendale.

This article has been amended, see note below for details. After spending more than 10 years and roughly $9 million, engineers testing two high-tech methods for removing chromium 6 from groundwater say neither method can reliably bring levels of the cancer-causing contaminant down to the point where it would hit a state public health goal. In 2011, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessmentset set a goal of drastically reducing the amount of chromium 6 - the contaminant brought to notoriety by the 2000 film “Erin Brokovich” - in the water supply.

Despite efforts to stop it, the chemical Chromium 6 has been seeping into Glendale groundwater for years at the site of a defunct plating company. By early next month, that will start to change. Ralphs Grocery Co. plans to finalize the purchase of the nearly 1-acre property near the border of Los Angeles and Glendale within the next two weeks. With that done, it will begin cleaning up the contaminated dirt left behind by Excello Plating Co. in order to expand the grocer's distribution center next door.

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- With Glendale a month away from using San Fernando Valley groundwater for the first time in two decades, the state has launched an investigation to identify companies responsible for chromium contamination in area water wells. The investigation by the Regional Water Control Board and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started with the development of a list of more than 250 companies that could have contributed to the chromium contamination, said Mel Blevins, a court-appointed master who oversees water supplies for the region and is a member of a chromium task force.

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- As the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is about to step up its investigation of chromium 6 contamination, the agency has announced it will hold a workshop in Glendale to spur debate and help the public understand the chromium issue. The board could send out letters as early as next week to more than 200 area companies to notify them that inspectors will be visiting their properties to determine if there is contamination on the sites, according to Dennis Dickerson, executive director of the board.

Alex Coolman GLENDALE -- U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) waded into the murky waters of the chromium 6 debate Thursday, releasing a two-pronged plan for addressing the issue. Schiff proposed that the National Toxicology Program conduct a study to determine whether chromium 6 -- which is known to be carcinogenic when inhaled -- is also hazardous when ingested in water. He also urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to release a definitive public health standard for chromium 6. No standard has been set for chromium 6 contamination.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Two local legislators are working on a bill that would establish a state standard for chromium 6 levels in drinking water. Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) and state Sen. Jack Scott (D-Glendale) have joined other legislators in backing a bill introduced Thursday that would require the state Department of Health Services to set the standard. "It's the most important thing we can do," said Frommer, the measure's principal coauthor.

This article has been amended, see note below for details. After spending more than 10 years and roughly $9 million, engineers testing two high-tech methods for removing chromium 6 from groundwater say neither method can reliably bring levels of the cancer-causing contaminant down to the point where it would hit a state public health goal. In 2011, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessmentset set a goal of drastically reducing the amount of chromium 6 - the contaminant brought to notoriety by the 2000 film “Erin Brokovich” - in the water supply.

After more than a decade and nearly $9 million, Glendale is nearing the end of its research into the water contaminant chromium 6. After the City Council this week approved using $536,000 to put the final touches on the research project, officials said it would be the last time they would be dealing with the money side of what has morphed into a national research effort for the most effective - and financially prudent - method for stripping the...

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has concluded an investigation into contamination on the site of the Walt Disney Studios, a senior board official said. The agency's decision comes a day after the Los Angeles Times reported that the board, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was investigating whether a vintage air conditioning system and cooling towers at Disney were the source of groundwater and soil contamination from chromium 6, a cancer-causing heavy metal.

Federal and state regulators are investigating whether a vintage air conditioning system at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank played a role in contaminating groundwater with chromium 6, a cancer-causing heavy metal widely used in aerospace manufacturing and other industries. A consultant hired by the Environmental Protection Agency recently identified the Disney property among a list of facilities being “investigated as potential sources of chromium contamination in groundwater,” according to an April 2012 report recently posted on the agency's website.

For the first time, a Glendale research team testing methods for stripping chromium 6 from groundwater has released an estimate for how much it will cost long term - putting the tab at up to $27 million over 20 years. The costs will be a key consideration for the California Department of Public Health, which plans to use the more than 10 years of research carried out by Glendale Water & Power to set a new maximum contaminant level for cancer-causing hexavalent chromium. In doing so, state officials must consider the costs and technical feasibility.

Despite efforts to stop it, the chemical Chromium 6 has been seeping into Glendale groundwater for years at the site of a defunct plating company. By early next month, that will start to change. Ralphs Grocery Co. plans to finalize the purchase of the nearly 1-acre property near the border of Los Angeles and Glendale within the next two weeks. With that done, it will begin cleaning up the contaminated dirt left behind by Excello Plating Co. in order to expand the grocer's distribution center next door.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) increased pressure on the Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday to issue a long-awaited final report on the health impact of water tainted with chromium 6 on humans, calling the slow progress “unconscionable.” In his letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the congressman whose district has a long-running problem with chromium 6 contamination of underground water said the agency “must stop wasting time...

Glendale Water & Power has started testing a new filtration method to strip chromium 6 from groundwater and plans to start the process for other techniques next month. Previous methods have had some drawbacks, prompting the fresh approaches. Filtration adds an extra step to current testing, but the others, which include using resins and absorption technology to suck out the cancer-causing contaminant, are new ventures. “We're blazing the trail here,” said Charles Cron, plant manager at a chromium 6 testing facility in northwest Glendale.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) took the California Department of Public Health to task Monday for “dragging its feet” on setting new limits on chromium 6 in drinking water, adding to a growing chorus of frustration among local officials. In a letter sent to the department's director Monday, Schiff called the years-long process for setting more strict contamination limits “unconscionable.” “I want to try to light a fire under them to get moving,” Schiff said in a phone interview.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich today slammed public health officials for “pathetic bureaucratic inertia” in establishing new maximum allowed levels of chromium-6 in public drinking water. The California Department of Public Health and state EPA have been working for years to establish a new “maximum contaminant level” for hexavalent chromium, which is known to cause cancer, but Antonovich said the process has been too slow. Chromium-6 is currently regulated at under the 50-micrograms per liter, but in 2011, a proposal was submitted to reduce that to 0.02- micrograms per liter.