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, in-
fants, and children, by requiring a health advisory and 
drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Pregnant 
Women and Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act of 
2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) according to the National Toxicology Pro-
gram of the Department of Health and Human 
Services— 
(A) chromium is a metal that can take var-
ious forms, including ‘‘hexavalent chromium’’, 
which is created when the metal is heated; 
(B) hexavalent chromium, also called 
‘‘Chrome 6’’, is widely used in metal fabrica-
tion, chrome finishing and plating, stainless- 
steel production, leather tanning, and wood pre-
servatives to reduce corrosion and for other 
purposes; and 
(C) determining the full extent of human 
exposures to Chrome 6 can be difficult to quan-
tify because exposure studies do not normally 
identify the specific form of chromium, but peo-
ple can come into contact with Chrome 6 
through breathing in air, drinking water, or 
touching products that contain the metal; 
(2) according to the Environmental Protection 
Agency— 
(A) in 2009, facilities in the United States 
released almost 8,000,000 pounds of chromium 
into the air, water, and land; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(B) in 2010, chromium was a primary con-
taminant in more than 500 of the most heavily 
contaminated sites on the National Priorities 
List developed by the President in accordance 
with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability 
Act 
of 
1980 
(42 
U.S.C. 
9605(a)(8)(B)), which means that more than 
40 percent of those most heavily contaminated 
sites in the United States are contaminated 
with chromium; 
(3) in 1990, the International Agency for the 
Research on Cancer declared that Chrome 6 was 
known to cause cancer in people when inhaled; 
(4) as early as 1998, the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency also concluded that Chrome 6 could 
cause cancer when inhaled; 
(5) in 2008, the National Toxicology Program 
of the Department of Health and Human Services 
concluded that Chrome 6 in drinking water shows 
‘‘clear evidence’’ of cancer-causing activity in labora-
tory animals; 
(6) a 2010 draft toxicological review of Chrome 
6 by the Environmental Protection Agency found 
that the contaminant in tap water is ‘‘likely to be 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
carcinogenic to humans’’ and cited significant cancer 
concerns and other health effects from animal stud-
ies, including anemia and damage to the gastro-
intestinal tract, lymph nodes, and liver; 
(7) nearly 2 decades before the date of enact-
ment of this Act, in 1991, the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency established a tap water standard for 
total chromium at 100 parts per billion; 
(8) in 2009, the State of California proposed a 
public health goal of 0.06 parts per billion for 
Chrome 6 in drinking water, which is almost 1,700 
times lower than the standard for total chromium 
established by the Environmental Protection Agency; 
(9) in 2010, the State of California proposed a 
public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for 
Chrome 6 in drinking water and stated that ‘‘new 
research has documented that young children and 
other sensitive populations are more susceptible than 
the general population to health risks from exposure 
to carcinogens’’; 
(10) in 2011, the State of California established 
a final public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for 
Chrome 6 in drinking water; 
(11) a December 2010 report from a nonprofit 
organization, which represents a snapshot in time 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
for water quality, tested tap water in 35 cities across 
the United States for chromium and Chrome 6 and 
found that— 
(A) the majority of chromium in drinking 
water was Chrome 6; and 
(B) tap water in 31 cities across the coun-
try contained Chrome 6, of which the 10 cities 
with the highest levels were— 
(i) Norman, Oklahoma; 
(ii) Honolulu, Hawaii; 
(iii) Riverside, California; 
(iv) Madison, Wisconsin; 
(v) San Jose, California; 
(vi) Tallahassee, Florida; 
(vii) Omaha, Nebraska; 
(viii) Albuquerque, New Mexico; 
(ix) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and 
(x) Bend, Oregon; and 
(12) tap water from 25 cities had levels of 
Chrome 6 above the 2009 proposed public health 
goal of the State of California. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to require 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy to establish— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) by not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, a health advisory for hexava-
lent chromium in drinking water that— 
(A) is fully protective of, and considers, 
the body weight and exposure patterns of preg-
nant women, infants, and children; 
(B) provides an adequate margin of safety; 
and 
(C) takes into account all routes of expo-
sure to hexavalent chromium; and 
(2) by not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, a national primary drinking 
water regulation for hexavalent chromium that fully 
protects pregnant women, infants, and children, tak-
ing into consideration body weight, exposure pat-
terns, and all routes of exposure to hexavalent chro-
mium. 
SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY 
DRINKING 
WATER 
REGULATION 
FOR 
HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM. 
Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(C) HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM.— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) HEALTH
ADVISORY.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this sec-
tion, not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this subparagraph, the Ad-
ministrator shall publish a health advisory 
for hexavalent chromium that is fully pro-
tective, with an adequate margin of safety, 
of the health of vulnerable individuals (in-
cluding pregnant women, infants, and chil-
dren), taking into consideration body 
weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of 
exposure. 
‘‘(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of this 
section, the Administrator shall propose 
(not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this subparagraph) and shall 
finalize (not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this subparagraph) a 
national primary drinking water regulation 
for hexavalent chromium— 
‘‘(I) that based on the factors in 
clause (i) and other relevant data, is 
protective, with an adequate margin 
of safety, of vulnerable individuals (in-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
cluding pregnant women, infants, and 
children); and 
‘‘(II) the maximum contaminant 
level of which is as close to the max-
imum contaminant level goal for 
hexavalent chromium, and as protec-
tive of vulnerable individuals, as is 
feasible.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:09 Mar 28, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4266.IH
H4266
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS