[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 79 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 79

     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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011

 Mrs. Boxer (for herself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Pregnant Women and 
Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act of 2011''.

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) a December 2010 report from a nonprofit organization, 
        which represents a snap-shot 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
            (11) 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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