Moorestown Responds To Reports Of Chromium-6 In Water

Moorestown, NJ -- The current federal drinking water standard for total chromium is 200 times greater than the amounts of Chromium-6 that have been detected in Moorestown’s water, officials said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Chromium-6 has been detected in Moorestown water at an average rate of 0.50 parts per billion (ppb), according to a study published Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group.

The current federal standard is 100 ppb. The toxin was made famous in the 2000 Julia Roberts movie "Erin Brockovich," after which California set a state standard at 0.02. New Jersey doesn’t have a set standard for Chromium-6.

“Recent news stories have highlighted concerns that the contaminant chromium-6 may be present in the drinking water for as many as 2/3 of the US public,” officials said. “As part of our participation in the US EPA’s third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR 3), Moorestown has completed several monitoring events for chromium-6 for which our average result was 0.5 ppb (parts per billion).”

Moorestown returned nine positive results in 2013, with the most recent positive test coming on Dec. 12, 2013.

Click here to see the full list of New Jersey towns included in this study.

A breakdown for the results can be found by clicking here.

“The MCL for total chromium was established in 1991 and is based on the best available science at the time which indicated that continued exposure to chromium-6 could result in allergic dermatitis (skin reactions),” according to the EPA’s website. “EPA is now reviewing data from a 2008 long-term animal study by the Department of Health and Human Service's National Toxicology Program, which suggested that chromium-6 may be a human carcinogen if ingested. When the review is completed, EPA will consider this and other information to determine whether the drinking water standard for total chromium needs to be revised.”

The township said it will update the public as new information and/or direction is received by the US EPA and the NJDEP.