II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 79 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Women and Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act of 

4 2011’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

6 (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) a December 2010 report from a nonprofit 

22 organization, which represents a snap-shot in time 

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

24 the United States for chromium and Chrome 6 and 

25 found that— 


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1 (A) the majority of chromium in drinking 

2 water was Chrome 6; and 

3 (B) tap water in 31 cities across the coun4 try contained Chrome 6, of which the 10 cities 

5 with the highest levels were— 

6 (i) Norman, Oklahoma; 

7 (ii) Honolulu, Hawaii; 

8 (iii) Riverside, California; 

9 (iv) Madison, Wisconsin; 

10 (v) San Jose, California; 

11 (vi) Tallahassee, Florida; 

12 (vii) Omaha, Nebraska; 

13 (viii) Albuquerque, New Mexico; 

14 (ix) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and 

15 (x) Bend, Oregon; and 

16 (11) tap water from 25 cities had levels of 

17 Chrome 6 above the 2009 proposed public health 

18 goal of the State of California. 

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

20 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen21 cy to establish— 

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

23 enactment of this Act, a health advisory for 

24 hexavalent chromium in drinking water that— 


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

2 the body weight and exposure patterns of preg3 nant women, infants, and children; 

4 (B) provides an adequate margin of safety; 

5 and 

6 (C) takes into account all routes of expo7 sure to hexavalent chromium; and 

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

9 enactment of this Act, a national primary drinking 

10 water regulation for hexavalent chromium that fully 

11 protects pregnant women, infants, and children, tak12 ing into consideration body weight, exposure pat13 terns, and all routes of exposure to hexavalent chro14 mium. 

15 SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY 

16 DRINKING WATER REGULATION FOR 

17 HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM. 

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

19 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM.— 

22 ‘‘(i) HEALTH ADVISORY.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of this sec24 tion, not later than 90 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this subparagraph, the AdVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:45 Jan 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S79.IS S79

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1 ministrator shall publish a health advisory 

2 for hexavalent chromium that is fully pro3 tective, with an adequate margin of safety, 

4 of the health of vulnerable individuals (in5 cluding pregnant women, infants, and chil6 dren), taking into consideration body 

7 weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of 

8 exposure. 

9 ‘‘(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not10 withstanding any other provision of this 

11 section, the Administrator shall propose 

12 (not later than 180 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this subparagraph) and shall 

14 finalize (not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this subparagraph) a 

16 national primary drinking water regulation 

17 for hexavalent chromium— 

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

19 clause (i) and other relevant data, is 

20 protective, with an adequate margin 

21 of safety, of vulnerable individuals (in22 cluding pregnant women, infants, and 

23 children); and 

24 ‘‘(II) the maximum contaminant 

25 level of which is as close to the maxVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:45 Jan 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S79.IS S79

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1 imum contaminant level goal for 

2 hexavalent chromium, and as protec3 tive of vulnerable individuals, as is 

4 feasible.’’. 

Æ 


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