I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4266 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of vulnerable 

individuals, including pregnant women, infants, and children, by requiring 

a health advisory and drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2012 

Mr. SCHIFF introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health 

of vulnerable individuals, including pregnant women, infants, and children, by requiring a health advisory and 

drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Pregnant 

5 Women and Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act of 

6 2012’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) according to the National Toxicology Pro2 gram of the Department of Health and Human 

3 Services— 

4 (A) chromium is a metal that can take var5 ious forms, including ‘‘hexavalent chromium’’, 

6 which is created when the metal is heated; 

7 (B) hexavalent chromium, also called 

8 ‘‘Chrome 6’’, is widely used in metal fabrica9 tion, chrome finishing and plating, stainless10 steel production, leather tanning, and wood pre11 servatives to reduce corrosion and for other 

12 purposes; and 

13 (C) determining the full extent of human 

14 exposures to Chrome 6 can be difficult to quan15 tify because exposure studies do not normally 

16 identify the specific form of chromium, but peo17 ple can come into contact with Chrome 6 

18 through breathing in air, drinking water, or 

19 touching products that contain the metal; 

20 (2) according to the Environmental Protection 

21 Agency— 

22 (A) in 2009, facilities in the United States 

23 released almost 8,000,000 pounds of chromium 

24 into the air, water, and land; and 


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1 (B) in 2010, chromium was a primary con2 taminant in more than 500 of the most heavily 

3 contaminated sites on the National Priorities 

4 List developed by the President in accordance 

5 with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive 

6 Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

7 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

8 9605(a)(8)(B)), which means that more than 

9 40 percent of those most heavily contaminated 

10 sites in the United States are contaminated 

11 with chromium; 

12 (3) in 1990, the International Agency for the 

13 Research on Cancer declared that Chrome 6 was 

14 known to cause cancer in people when inhaled; 

15 (4) as early as 1998, the Environmental Protec16 tion Agency also concluded that Chrome 6 could 

17 cause cancer when inhaled; 

18 (5) in 2008, the National Toxicology Program 

19 of the Department of Health and Human Services 

20 concluded that Chrome 6 in drinking water shows 

21 ‘‘clear evidence’’ of cancer-causing activity in labora22 tory animals; 

23 (6) a 2010 draft toxicological review of Chrome 

24 6 by the Environmental Protection Agency found 

25 that the contaminant in tap water is ‘‘likely to be 


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1 carcinogenic to humans’’ and cited significant cancer 

2 concerns and other health effects from animal stud3 ies, including anemia and damage to the gastro4 intestinal tract, lymph nodes, and liver; 

5 (7) nearly 2 decades before the date of enact6 ment of this Act, in 1991, the Environmental Pro7 tection Agency established a tap water standard for 

8 total chromium at 100 parts per billion; 

9 (8) in 2009, the State of California proposed a 

10 public health goal of 0.06 parts per billion for 

11 Chrome 6 in drinking water, which is almost 1,700 

12 times lower than the standard for total chromium 

13 established by the Environmental Protection Agency; 

14 (9) in 2010, the State of California proposed a 

15 public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for 

16 Chrome 6 in drinking water and stated that ‘‘new 

17 research has documented that young children and 

18 other sensitive populations are more susceptible than 

19 the general population to health risks from exposure 

20 to carcinogens’’; 

21 (10) in 2011, the State of California established 

22 a final public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for 

23 Chrome 6 in drinking water; 

24 (11) a December 2010 report from a nonprofit 

25 organization, which represents a snapshot in time 


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1 for water quality, tested tap water in 35 cities across 

2 the United States for chromium and Chrome 6 and 

3 found that— 

4 (A) the majority of chromium in drinking 

5 water was Chrome 6; and 

6 (B) tap water in 31 cities across the coun7 try contained Chrome 6, of which the 10 cities 

8 with the highest levels were— 

9 (i) Norman, Oklahoma; 

10 (ii) Honolulu, Hawaii; 

11 (iii) Riverside, California; 

12 (iv) Madison, Wisconsin; 

13 (v) San Jose, California; 

14 (vi) Tallahassee, Florida; 

15 (vii) Omaha, Nebraska; 

16 (viii) Albuquerque, New Mexico; 

17 (ix) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and 

18 (x) Bend, Oregon; and 

19 (12) tap water from 25 cities had levels of 

20 Chrome 6 above the 2009 proposed public health 

21 goal of the State of California. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to require 

23 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen24 cy to establish— 


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1 (1) by not later than 90 days after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, a health advisory for hexava3 lent chromium in drinking water that— 

4 (A) is fully protective of, and considers, 

5 the body weight and exposure patterns of preg6 nant women, infants, and children; 

7 (B) provides an adequate margin of safety; 

8 and 

9 (C) takes into account all routes of expo10 sure to hexavalent chromium; and 

11 (2) by not later than 1 year after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, a national primary drinking 

13 water regulation for hexavalent chromium that fully 

14 protects pregnant women, infants, and children, tak15 ing into consideration body weight, exposure pat16 terns, and all routes of exposure to hexavalent chro17 mium. 

18 SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY 

19 DRINKING WATER REGULATION FOR 

20 HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM. 

21 Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(C) HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) HEALTH ADVISORY.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of this sec3 tion, not later than 90 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this subparagraph, the Ad5 ministrator shall publish a health advisory 

6 for hexavalent chromium that is fully pro7 tective, with an adequate margin of safety, 

8 of the health of vulnerable individuals (in9 cluding pregnant women, infants, and chil10 dren), taking into consideration body 

11 weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of 

12 exposure. 

13 ‘‘(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not14 withstanding any other provision of this 

15 section, the Administrator shall propose 

16 (not later than 180 days after the date of 

17 enactment of this subparagraph) and shall 

18 finalize (not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this subparagraph) a 

20 national primary drinking water regulation 

21 for hexavalent chromium— 

22 ‘‘(I) that based on the factors in 

23 clause (i) and other relevant data, is 

24 protective, with an adequate margin 

25 of safety, of vulnerable individuals (inVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:09 Mar 28, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4266.IH H4266

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1 cluding pregnant women, infants, and 

2 children); and 

3 ‘‘(II) the maximum contaminant 

4 level of which is as close to the max5 imum contaminant level goal for 

6 hexavalent chromium, and as protec7 tive of vulnerable individuals, as is 

8 feasible.’’. 

Æ 


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