WATER STUDY IN ITS FINAL PHASE CHROMIUM 6 REMOVAL IS GOAL.Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer GLENDALE -- With levels of chromium 6 projected to triple in some wells in the next decade, city officials on Thursday entered the final phase of a study to determine how to remove the industrial chemical from the municipal water supply. A panel that includes scientists, water-quality experts and officials from 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 recommended that Glendale commit to large-scale testing of a chemical-filtering process that could be costly to build but easy to maintain long term. ``That's the whip that's cracking over our backs,'' said Peter Kavounas, the city's water services administrator. ``We'll have to put our heads together, regroup re·group v. re·grouped, re·group·ing, re·groups v.tr. To arrange in a new grouping. v.intr. 1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. , and we'll have our course laid out in about a month.'' Hexavalent chromium -- more commonly known as chromium 6 -- is a metal-finishing chemical that gained public attention in the Academy Award-winning film ``Erin Brokovich.'' The environmental crusader helped win a landmark settlement for residents of Hinckley who were sickened by chromium 6 contamination in the town's water supply. The chemical is a legacy of the defense and aviation industries that dotted Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. since the 1940s. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is still trying to determine the source of the local contamination, which also affects wells in North Hollywood and Burbank, Kavounas said. The contaminant contaminant /con·tam·i·nant/ (kon-tam´in-int) something that causes contamination. contaminant something that causes contamination. appears in high concentrations at three of eight alluvial wells managed by Glendale Water & Power -- between 35 to 54 parts per billion as of July. One part per billion is about a drop of ink in an Olympic-size swimming pool. Through treatment and water blending, GWP GWP Global Warming Potential GWP Global Water Partnership GWP Gift With Purchase GWP Guinea-Bissau Peso (currency code: now GNF) GWP German Wirehaired Pointer (dog breed) GWP Gross World Product has reduced concentrations to 9.3 ppb. But according to a 2005 study by CH2M Hill, water at two of the wells could more than triple to 170 ppb in the next five to 10 years because the plume is naturally expanding. That would skew (1) The misalignment of a document or punch card in the feed tray or hopper that prohibits it from being scanned or read properly. (2) In facsimile, the difference in rectangularity between the received and transmitted page. the concentration from the tap to about 31 ppb. ``The concentrations are quite high, and Glendale is going to have to act if they are to continue to use the resource,'' said Michael J. McGuire, a consultant to the city study. State law allows 50 ppb of the chemical 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. , with federal standards at 100 parts per billion. The Glendale City Council wants to further reduce that to 5 parts per billion. The city has led a $3.1million multiagency study coordinated by the American WaterWorks waterworks: see water supply. Association Research Foundation to find ways to remove the chemical. eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com (818) 546-3304 |
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