RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, recent media reports have indicated that hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6, has been detected in tap water in cities across the United States; and
WHEREAS, this dangerous toxin, hexavalent chromium (chromium 6), first made headlines in the mid-1990's when law clerk, Erin Brockovich, uncovered that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) had been poisoning the small town of Hinkley, California with hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) for over 30 years; and
WHEREAS, the cancer-stricken residents of Hinkly, California received a $333 million dollar settlement from PG&E for injuries resulting from the contamination of their water supply; and
WHEREAS, hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) is commonly discharged from steel and pulp mills, as from well as metal-planting and leather-tanning facilities; and
WHEREAS, studies of workers in chromium processing factories have shown that hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) is a known human carcinogen; and
WHEREAS, chronic exposure to hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) in tap water is likely to raise one's risk of cancer; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington-based research and advocacy organization, recently hired an independent laboratory which found hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) in treated drinking water from 31 cities; and
WHEREAS, at least 74 million Americans in nearly 7,000 communities across 42 states are reportedly exposed to chromium polluted tap water; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require cities to test for the toxic metal, nor does the EPA limit the amount of hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) permitted in drinking water; and
WHEREAS, the EPA hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) as a human carcinogen when consumed in drinking water; and
WHEREAS, in 2009, California officials proposed limiting the amount of hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) in drinking water to 0.06 parts per billion (ppb); and
WHEREAS, 0.18 parts per billion of hexavalent chromi...
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