![]() ![]() “Bottom line, you want to work with someone who is trained and knowledgeable,” Yeggy added. WQA also certifies installation professionals for their ability to match the right product to a customer’s needs. Structural components are challenged to measure durability as well, Yeggy said. ![]() Under its certification, products are tested to assure they do exactly what the company claims and product materials are also inspected to assure they do not leach toxins into the water. The WQA website can then help you find products certified by the trade association to clear your home of harmful toxins. Second, visit the EPA.gov website to learn which technologies are appropriate for removing the contaminants listed in the report, Owens added. In the report, you can find the specific contaminants that may be found in your municipality’s water. If you are concerned about contaminants in your home, Owens suggests you start by visiting the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website to seek out the data for your city or the local city water department’s consumer confidence report for your city. Owens also said there are some naturally occurring chromium deposits near well sites in northern Phoenix that are being monitored for their impacts on area tap water.Ĭhromium-6, arsenic and a number of other potentially harmful chemicals can still be removed from tap water. “It’s not practical to expect the public water provider to deliver perfect water to the tap.” “They do the best job they can considering the resources they have,” Owens said of local municipalities. Several local water reports, in the past, have exceeded 500 ppm, he added. Anything above 500 ppm is not recommended for consumption. Between 250 and 300 ppm (parts per million) is average for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secondary drinking water standards. TDS levels, Owens said, are regulated under the U.S. Owens and Yeggy say there are plenty of other issues like arsenic and the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), to monitor in tap water as well. “Chromium is one of the contaminants we’re always watching and California has been sort of leading the charge at the state level to develop limits for chromium-6,” said Eric Yeggy, technical director for the Water Quality Association (WQA), an Illinois-based trade association for the commercial and residential water treatment industry. While there is still considerable debate as to the safe allowable amount of chromium-6 in drinking water, the EWG report estimates 12,000 Americans are at risk of cancer as a result of chromium-6 exposure through drinking water. It is the only state in the nation that has established a chromium-6 specific limit. However, California has set aggressive chromium-6 limits of 10 ppb. Some Valley cities have tested specifically for chromium-6 and results have ranged from 2 to 46 ppb. But the figure does not measure chromium-6 specifically, which could create some confusion for consumers, adds Jon Owens, a certified water specialist with Kinetico Arizona. In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established rules for the amount of total chromium allowed in drinking water at 100 parts per billion (ppb). Chromium-6, however, is usually the result of natural erosion of chromium deposits in certain environments, but it can also be the product of certain industrial processes, as was the case in Hinkley. Chromium-3 is essential to human life and can be found in many foods like fruits and vegetables. There are two types of chromium that typically appear in drinking water – trivalent chromium (chromium-3) and hexavalent chromium (chromium-6). Fortunately, for Valley residents, technology is in place to remove it from a home’s tap water. A September 2016 report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimates chromium-6 can be found in the drinking water of 200 million Americans, and Phoenix is among the major metro areas where the toxin is showing up. Since the 2000-release of the film, Americans have learned chromium-6 concerns are far from an isolated incident. Since the actual settlement, Hinkley has become a ghost town, losing its zip code in 2015 and closing its elementary school in 2013. Named for its mom-turned-activist main character played by Julia Roberts, the film chronicles Brockovich’s legal journey battling Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) between 19 over environmental practices that produced elevated levels of chromium-6 in Hinkley, Calif. ![]() Nearly two decades after the release of the film “Erin Brockovich,” the carcinogen chromium-6 still captures headlines in the world of water treatment. ![]()
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