Stafford Township Officials Say Local Water Is Safe, Merits Of Chromium-6 Study Disputed

Stafford Township officials are assuring residents that their water is safe to drink, despite the small presence of Chromium-6 in a test sample in one area of town that was pointed out in recent news reports.

Township Administrator James E. Moran disputed a recent study, cited in a recent Patch article, that showed small amounts of Chromium-6 in the local water supply. The study was done by the Environmental Working Group and pointed out the toxin was made famous in the 2000 Julia Roberts movie "Erin Brockovich,"

Moran said the levels of Chromium-6 that were the subject of the 2000 movie were "millions of times higher" that those detected in the Stafford.

Chromium is typically found in rocks, animals, plants, soil and volcanic dust and gases, according to the National Toxicology Program, and it comes in several forms. Chromium-6, which is rare in nature, is typically the product of industrial byproduct and pollution.

But while local levels are below the EPA standards, the Environmental Working Group study specifically highlighted providers that have sites with water that has tested above 0.02 parts per billion, a level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set as a public health goal in 2011.

Many environmentalists, including the Environmental Working Group, say even trace amounts are harmful to public health. The nonprofit organization, in its study, said that if left untreated, the current levels of Chromium-6 in tap water would cause more than 12,000 excess cases of cancer by the end of the century.

Stafford has four water plants in the township and regularly tests for a number of potential contaminants, Moran said.

The level of Chromium-6 found in one area of town was 0.045 parts per million, well below the federal Environmental Protection Agency's standard of 10 parts per billion. Stafford's overall total chromium is less than 0.001 parts per billion, Moran said.

Click here to read about the true risk of Chromium-6 in New Jersey's water and what state leaders are doing about it.