Which Maryland Communities Have Chromium 6 In Their Water — And How Much?

A new report shows drinking water supplies in Baltimore, Annapolis, Rockville and other Maryland communities have the cancer-causing toxin chromium 6, which became a household name after Julia Roberts’ 2000 mega-hit movie based on the real-life environmentalist Erin Brockovich’s investigation of groundwater in Hinkley, California.

Chromium 6 has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and liver problems, but none of the measurements in Maryland communities come close to the levels in Hinkley — about 1.19 parts per billion, with a peak of 3.09 ppb — according to the report from the Environmental Working Group.

Furthermore, none of the towns on the list exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum of 100 parts per billion of total chromium.

The Environmental Working Group identified towns that exceed 0.02 parts per billion in tap water, a level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set as a public health goal in 2011. The goal was set after Brockovich was successful in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company of California in 1993 that blamed the company for contaminating local water.

Officials in California believe even that level of the contaminant can be harmful and pose a cancer threat — not just for people who drink the water, but also bathe in it or have any contact.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment, analyzed federal data from nationwide drinking water tests showing that the compound contaminates water supplies for more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states.

"Yet federal regulations are stalled by a chemical industry challenge that could mean no national regulation of a chemical state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer when ingested at even extraordinarily low levels," according to the report.

Here is the list of cities, water commissions and countywide agencies that were tested for chromium 6, and the findings:

City of Baltimore

• Baltimore City - Population Served: 1,600,000

Harford County

• Chapel Hill - Population Served: 15,000
• City of Aberdeen - Population Served: 16,200
• City of Havre de Grace - Population Served: 14,000
• Harford County DPW - Population Served: 104,567
• MD American Water Co. - Population Served: 13,200

Anne Arundel County

• Broad Creek - Population Served: 23,179
• City of Annapolis - Population Served: 35,000
• Crofton-Odenton - Population Served: 62,986
• Fort George G. Meade - Population Served: 62,234
• Glen Burnie-Broadneck - Population Served: 290,606
• US Naval Academy - Population Served: 8,700

Prince George's County

• Bowie - Population Served: 25,000

Montgomery County

• City of Rockville - Population Served: 46,500
• Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission - Population Served: 1,800,000

Howard County

• Howard County DPW Distribution - Population Served: 247,000

Carroll County

• City of Westminster - Population Served: 35,256
• Freedom District - Population Served: 24,655

Cecil County

• Town of Elkton - Population Served: 12,458

Patch file photo

— Written by Tom Davis with additional reporting by Beth Dalbey and Deb Belt