Chromium in Drinking Water Causes Cancer: U.S. Agency

By Jill Serjeant

Link to Article

Thanks to Mark B. for this article. I am working on a special issue focused on bottled water with lots of articles and links. Stay tuned -

A type of chromium highlighted in the film "Erin Brockovich" causes cancer in lab animals when they drink it in water, and it could be harmful to people, the U.S. National Institutes of Health said on Wednesday.

Hexavalent chromium, also called chromium 6, already has been shown to cause lung cancer when inhaled and is controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as by states.

It is best known as the contaminant exposed by campaigner Erin Brockovich, whose battle against a polluter was dramatized in the May 2000 movie of the same name.