[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4266 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4266
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of
vulnerable individuals, including pregnant women, infants, and
children, by requiring a health advisory and drinking water standard
for hexavalent chromium.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2012
Mr. Schiff introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of
vulnerable individuals, including pregnant women, infants, and
children, by requiring a health advisory and drinking water standard
for hexavalent chromium.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Pregnant Women and
Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) according to the National Toxicology Program of the
Department of Health and Human Services--
(A) chromium is a metal that can take various
forms, including ``hexavalent chromium'', which is
created when the metal is heated;
(B) hexavalent chromium, also called ``Chrome 6'',
is widely used in metal fabrication, chrome finishing
and plating, stainless-steel production, leather
tanning, and wood preservatives to reduce corrosion and
for other purposes; and
(C) determining the full extent of human exposures
to Chrome 6 can be difficult to quantify because
exposure studies do not normally identify the specific
form of chromium, but people can come into contact with
Chrome 6 through breathing in air, drinking water, or
touching products that contain the metal;
(2) according to the Environmental Protection Agency--
(A) in 2009, facilities in the United States
released almost 8,000,000 pounds of chromium into the
air, water, and land; and
(B) in 2010, chromium was a primary contaminant in
more than 500 of the most heavily contaminated sites on
the National Priorities List developed by the President
in accordance with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)), which
means that more than 40 percent of those most heavily
contaminated sites in the United States are
contaminated with chromium;
(3) in 1990, the International Agency for the Research on
Cancer declared that Chrome 6 was known to cause cancer in
people when inhaled;
(4) as early as 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency
also concluded that Chrome 6 could cause cancer when inhaled;
(5) in 2008, the National Toxicology Program of the
Department of Health and Human Services concluded that Chrome 6
in drinking water shows ``clear evidence'' of cancer-causing
activity in laboratory animals;
(6) a 2010 draft toxicological review of Chrome 6 by the
Environmental Protection Agency found that the contaminant in
tap water is ``likely to be carcinogenic to humans'' and cited
significant cancer concerns and other health effects from
animal studies, including anemia and damage to the
gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes, and liver;
(7) nearly 2 decades before the date of enactment of this
Act, in 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency established a
tap water standard for total chromium at 100 parts per billion;
(8) in 2009, the State of California proposed a public
health goal of 0.06 parts per billion for Chrome 6 in drinking
water, which is almost 1,700 times lower than the standard for
total chromium established by the Environmental Protection
Agency;
(9) in 2010, the State of California proposed a public
health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for Chrome 6 in drinking
water and stated that ``new research has documented that young
children and other sensitive populations are more susceptible
than the general population to health risks from exposure to
carcinogens'';
(10) in 2011, the State of California established a final
public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for Chrome 6 in
drinking water;
(11) a December 2010 report from a nonprofit organization,
which represents a snapshot in time for water quality, tested
tap water in 35 cities across the United States for chromium
and Chrome 6 and found that--
(A) the majority of chromium in drinking water was
Chrome 6; and
(B) tap water in 31 cities across the country
contained Chrome 6, of which the 10 cities with the
highest levels were--
(i) Norman, Oklahoma;
(ii) Honolulu, Hawaii;
(iii) Riverside, California;
(iv) Madison, Wisconsin;
(v) San Jose, California;
(vi) Tallahassee, Florida;
(vii) Omaha, Nebraska;
(viii) Albuquerque, New Mexico;
(ix) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and
(x) Bend, Oregon; and
(12) tap water from 25 cities had levels of Chrome 6 above
the 2009 proposed public health goal of the State of
California.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish--
(1) by not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, a health advisory for hexavalent chromium in
drinking water that--
(A) is fully protective of, and considers, the body
weight and exposure patterns of pregnant women,
infants, and children;
(B) provides an adequate margin of safety; and
(C) takes into account all routes of exposure to
hexavalent chromium; and
(2) by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, a national primary drinking water regulation for
hexavalent chromium that fully protects pregnant women,
infants, and children, taking into consideration body weight,
exposure patterns, and all routes of exposure to hexavalent
chromium.
SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATION
FOR HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM.
Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-
1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Hexavalent chromium.--
``(i) Health advisory.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, not later than
90 days after the date of enactment of this
subparagraph, the Administrator shall publish a
health advisory for hexavalent chromium that is
fully protective, with an adequate margin of
safety, of the health of vulnerable individuals
(including pregnant women, infants, and
children), taking into consideration body
weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of
exposure.
``(ii) Proposed regulations.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, the Administrator shall propose (not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this subparagraph) and shall finalize (not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this subparagraph) a national primary
drinking water regulation for hexavalent
chromium--
``(I) that based on the factors in
clause (i) and other relevant data, is
protective, with an adequate margin of
safety, of vulnerable individuals
(including pregnant women, infants, and
children); and
``(II) the maximum contaminant
level of which is as close to the
maximum contaminant level goal for
hexavalent chromium, and as protective
of vulnerable individuals, as is
feasible.''.
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