CHROMIUM 6 WILL BE STUDIED REVIEW TO PROVIDE BASIS FOR EPA STANDARDS.Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer GLENDALE - The National Toxicology Program National Toxicology Program Environment A program that conducts toxicologic tests on substances frequently found at the EPA's National Priorities List sites, which have the greatest potential for human exposure will undertake a multimillion-dollar study to determine whether chromium 6 - a chemical found in high levels in the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's groundwater - causes cancer when ingested in·gest tr.v. in·gest·ed, in·gest·ing, in·gests 1. To take into the body by the mouth for digestion or absorption. See Synonyms at eat. 2. by drinking, officials said Thursday. The lack of standards for chromium 6 has put local water providers - especially the city of Glendale - in a difficult position, not knowing whether widespread health problems will result from contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. groundwater delivered to homes and businesses. Christopher J. Portier, NTP's acting associate director, said the study will focus on whether chromium 6 causes cancer and, if so, what kinds. ``Many times the bottom line for setting the standards is driven by our studies. We are sort of the scientists in the background, not the regulator,'' Portier said. ``We try to provide the best scientific information possible for a regulatory decision.'' The study, which will be officially announced during a news conference scheduled for today, will cost $2 million to $4 million and take roughly 3 1/2 years to complete. Mice and rats will be exposed to the chemical for about two years, beginning this fall, he said. Researchers will spend roughly a year looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. tumors in the animals. At the same time the long-term study is being conducted, the NTP (Network Time Protocol) A TCP/IP protocol used to synchronize the real time clock in computers, network devices and other electronic equipment that is time sensitive. It is also used to maintain the correct time in NTP-based wall and desk clocks. will contract with researchers to do a short-term study focusing on how chromium 6 dissipates in the body once it is ingested and its effects - other than causing cancer - on tissue. Ultimately, the studies will provide the scientific basis for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and to set standards for chromium 6 in drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. . Only one study has been undertaken on the health effects of ingesting chromium 6 in drinking water, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Portier. Done in 1958, the one-year study found that chromium 6 caused benign cancer in the stomachs of rats and mice. Portier discounts that study, saying it is outdated and that it wasn't conducted with today's scientific rigor rigor /rig·or/ (rig´er) [L.] chill; rigidity. rigor mor´tis the stiffening of a dead body accompanying depletion of adenosine triphosphate in the muscle fibers. . Other studies done on chromium 6, Portier said, focused on the effects of inhaling the chemical, not ingesting it through drinking water. Those studies did not focus on cancer, instead they centered on developmental and reproductive effects. Current federal and state standards on total chromium - of which chromium 6 is only a component - are not consistent. The state standard is 50 parts per billion and the federal 100 ppb. In Glendale, where groundwater has been contaminated by the aerospace industry, the chromium 6 levels in some wells have been as high as 16 ppb, many times higher than what is found in imported water from the Sacramento Delta region. Local officials who have spent months lobbying federal and state lawmakers for a drinking water standard called the announcement by NTP a breakthrough. ``I am thrilled the National Toxicology Program has agreed to do the study,'' said Congressman Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who was instrumental in orchestrating lobbying the NTP for the study. ``It's a big breakthrough for our region.'' Don Froelich, Glendale's water services administrator, said the study will complement the city's effort to build a demonstration facility to remove chromium 6 from local groundwater supplies. ``Before you can set a standard or water quality perimeter, you have to have the health effect, technology and the cost. All those three things need to come together,'' he said. |
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