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.

CITY HALL — Glendale Water & Power officials are pushing to expand a multimillion-dollar chromium 6 removal project after long-stalled state funding was freed up. The stalled grant reimbursements from the state had prompted utility officials to threaten suspending operations at the two test facilities, a move that would have been a major setback for a project that could end up having far-reaching implications for how agencies strip the...

CITY HALL — Regional water officials have been discussing progress on a Glendale Water & Power chromium 6 removal project, as the utility awaits millions in reimbursement from the state. Last week, the advisory committee for the $5-million multi-jurisdictional research project met to receive an update on its final phase — facilities testing two methods for stripping the cancer-causing contaminant from the water supply. Committee members said the long-awaited information would help agencies across the state determine the most cost-effective methods for the contaminant's removal.

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.

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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to install 30 wells in the Glendale-Burbank region in March to monitor levels of chromium 6 in underground water to get a fuller picture of how extensive the contamination is. The move is another step in the federal agency's 2007 investigation into the cancer-causing element's potential threats to human health and the environment. The investigation will also aid California officials who are considering tighter restrictions on how much of the toxic element should be allowed in potable water.

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.

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.

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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to install 30 wells in the Glendale-Burbank region in March to monitor levels of chromium 6 in underground water to get a fuller picture of how extensive the contamination is. The move is another step in the federal agency's 2007 investigation into the cancer-causing element's potential threats to human health and the environment. The investigation will also aid California officials who are considering tighter restrictions on how much of the toxic element should be allowed in potable water.

The costs keep piling up as a project to study chromium 6 removal becomes a bigger expense than expected for Glendale, which has been trudging through nine years of research to strip the cancer-causing contaminant from groundwater. Although the City Council on Tuesday approved spending another $400,000 to continue research at two testing facilities - just two months after they gave the green light to spend $550,000 in grant and state funding on more research - some city officials are getting antsy.

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.

State sends $1.9M for chromium 6 project Glendale Water & Power officials on Tuesday announced that they had received a long-awaited state reimbursement for $1.9 million toward ongoing efforts to remove chromium 6 from underground aquifers. As of July, Glendale had received just $50,000 of the state's $2.5-million pledge for the project, in which utility officials are working with a coalition of stakeholders to determine which of two filtering processes are more efficient and effective for widespread use. The outcome could have broad implications nationwide for how governments and utilities filter cancer-causing hexavalent chromium from underground water.

CITY HALL — Glendale Water & Power officials are pushing to expand a multimillion-dollar chromium 6 removal project after long-stalled state funding was freed up. The stalled grant reimbursements from the state had prompted utility officials to threaten suspending operations at the two test facilities, a move that would have been a major setback for a project that could end up having far-reaching implications for how agencies strip the...