From the
Hexavalent Chromium PDF from the National Toxicology Program (NTP)What is hexavalent chromium?
Hexavalent chromium is a form of the metallic element chromium. Chromium is a naturally occurring element found in rocks, animals, plants, soil, and volcanic dust and gases. It comes in several different forms, including trivalent chromium and hexavalent chromium. Trivalent chromium is often referred to as chromium (III) and is proposed to be an essential nutrient for the body. Hexavalent chromium, or chromium (VI), is generally
produced by industrial processes.
How is hexavalent chromium used?
Chromium compounds, such as hexavalent chromium, are widely used in electroplating, stainless steel production, leather tanning, textile manufacturing, and wood preservation. The U.S. is one of the world’s leading producers of chromium compounds.
How are people exposed to hexavalent chromium?
Hexavalent chromium exposure occurs through breathing it in, ingesting it in food or water, or direct
contact with the skin.
What are the known health effects of inhaling hexavalent chromium?
Hexavalent chromium compounds have been shown to cause lung cancer in humans when inhaled. The 13th Report on Carcinogens lists hexavalent chromium compounds as known human carcinogens. Studies have consistently shown increased lung cancer rates in workers who were exposed to high levels of chromium in workroom air. People who work in industries that process or use chromium or chromium compounds can be exposed to higher-than-normal levels of chromium. Occupational exposures occur mainly among workers who handle chromate-containing pigments, spray paints, or coatings; operate chrome plating baths; or weld or cut metals that contain chromium, such as stainless steel. Some of the adverse health effects from hexavalent chromium exposures include nasal and sinus cancers, kidney and liver damage, nasal and skin irritation and ulceration, and eye irritation and damage.
What prompted the National Toxicology Program (NTP) to study hexavalent chromium?
Hexavalent chromium was detected in groundwater samples in California and other states. There was public concern about the safety of the drinking water in several California cities. Hexavalent chromium was brought to the public’s attention in many ways, most notably in the movie “Erin Brockovich.” The California congressional delegation, California Environmental Protection Agency, and California Department of Health Services nominated hexavalent chromium for toxicity and carcinogenicity testing, because of concerns over its presence in drinking water sources, its potential health effects including causing cancer, and the lack of adequate cancer studies on ingested hexavalent chromium. Hexavalent chromium compounds have been shown to cause lung cancer in humans when inhaled, but it was not known whether these compounds could also cause cancer when ingested.
Are there safety levels for exposure to chromium in drinking water?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a maximum contaminant level of 100 parts per billion for total chromium in drinking water. Numerous states have established limits of 50 parts per billion of total chromium in drinking water.
Other resources include:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
After reading through more of these links, this new information, I believe, is critical for understanding why US Americans are experiencing a decline in health since the 50s. It turns out that most municipal water supplies in the USA are contaminated with chromium-6, which, if you recall, was the industrial contaminant that was killing residence of Hinkley, CA, for which the movie, “Erin Brokovich”, was all about.
My conclusion is the decline in US American health since the 50s is most likely due to a multifaceted problem; which means the solution has to account for the collection of causes, which I do not believe have been addressed by the collection of health books that have been published in the last 60 years.
1] The beginning of the decline in US American health started with the movement of large numbers of US Americans from the farm to the industrial centers starting just prior to the American civil war, which meant the US American diet was going to shift from bacon and eggs for breakfast to something else.
2] The introduction of breakfast cereals around 1900, which moved the US American diet away from the low-carb bacon and eggs breakfast to high-carb breakfast cereals which were the first fast, and cheap, food, which only required milk to eat, and sugar was surely added by the consumer early on to make the rather bland breakfast cereal palatable.
3] Rapid industrialization began in the USA during WWI. At that time even more US Americans moved from the farm to the industrial centers, which increased the need for fast, and cheap, food, which the breakfast cereal met.
4] Around this time municipal water supply systems were upgraded with chlorination systems, which were needed to reduce infectious diseases such as typhoid. However, the consequence was consuming chlorinated municipal water killed useful gut bacteria, some of which was useful for pre-processing carbohydrates.
5] The global economic collapse of 1929 brought the USA to invest more in its infrastructure, which at the time included building upgraded municipal water systems all over the USA, which included drilling wells to tap into ground water reserves, as well as water chlorination systems.
6] The problem with municipal water systems that tapped into ground water reserves, meant that there was an increase in the consumption of naturally occurring radioactive materials, such as: uranium, radium and radon, which are more abundant in most ground water. This increased inflammatory conditions due to alpha particle emissions inside the body.
7] With increased inflammatory conditions due to alpha particle emissions inside the body; and the decline of gut bacteria, due to the chlorination of municipal water; there was an increased use of antibiotics at this time, which increased the decline in gut bacteria.
8] Along with the post WWI industrialization was an increase in small chromium plating workshops everywhere in the USA. There were no EPA regulations to control the disposal of industrial contaminants until the late 60s, so small chromium plating workshops simply dumped their wastes on the ground in the back of their workshop. After about 4 decades or dumping the wastes from chromium plating workshops these residues started arriving in the water table. The chromium used in chromium plating is chromium-6, which has been found to be toxic.
9] Thus, with the decline of egg consumption, and the rise in the consumption of carbohydrate-rich fast foods, and the increase in chromium-6 contamination by the early 50s, as well as the decline in gut bacteria; we see the knee function in the decline in US American health, most significantly in the rise in type II diabetes due to the replacement of chromium-3 by chromium-6, which most probably causes the pancreas to malfunction. The other diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, arthritis and Alzimer’s disease; are all byproducts of a malfunctioning pancreas.
So, to me the take home message is, do not drink or cook with municipal water anywhere. Always drink and cook with at least purified water, if not distilled water.
