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Politics & The Nation
Politics&The Nation Environmentalists plan to redirect strategies
Senate passes bill to protect Pacific sharks from fin trade ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ won’t change immediately
TheWorld Aid groups decry Israel’s Gaza constraints
Pope urges self-reflection on flaws that led to abuse North Korea makes gestures toward calm after South’s drills
U.S. contractor accused of not paying Afghan vendors is jailed AbductedMexican politician released
Economy&Business Some gift cards take on newmeaning
Deals Newtax lawshows futility of Social Security trust fund Former OCC chief to rejoin his old lawfirm
The Fed Page
Fine Print Gauging the price tag for Afghanistan’s security
In Session Senators gather to dish the deficit
CORRECTIONS
l A quotation that ran on the Book World pages of the Dec. 19
Outlook section, about Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s reading habits, should have been attributed to an interview she gave to C-SPAN.
l A Dec. 14 Metro article about the likelihood that D.C. Police
Chief Cathy L. Lanier would be reappointed misspelled the first name of the president of the Ward 8 Democrats. He is Jacque Patterson.
The Washington Post is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. Those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can: E-mail:
corrections@washpost.com. Call: 202-334-6000, and ask to be connected to the desk involved — National, Foreign, Metro, Style, Sports, Business or any of the weekly sections. The ombudsman, who acts as the readers’ representative, can be reached by calling 202-334-7582 or e-mailing
ombudsman@washpost.com.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010
Welcoming the sailors home, just in time for some of the holidays
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Sadrist objections toMaliki’s plans delay newIraqi government A10 Pentagon, State blasted over Kyrgyz jet-fuel deals
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Afamily member gives a warm greeting to Robert Leggett, an aviation machinist’smate, of Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Leggett was aboard the aircraft carrier USSHarry S. Truman when it docked inNorfolk,
Va.Nearly 7,000 sailors were returning to the home port after a seven- month deployment in connection withU.S. operations in Afghanistan. They were serving with the 5th Fleet Area of responsibility, conducting maritime security.
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A14 MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES Water analysis raises safety issues
Probable carcinogen found in 31 of 35 cities, including 2 in area
BY LYNDSEY LAYTON
A new analysis showing the presence of a probable carcino- gen in the tap water of 31 cities across the country has raised questions about possible risks posed to consumers in those com- munities and how they can re- duce their exposure. The chemical, hexavalent chro-
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mium, got public attention in the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich” and has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals by theNation- alToxicology Program, part of the National Institutes ofHealth. Although basic water filters
such as those made by Brita and PUR do not remove hexavalent chromium, several reverse-osmo- sis systemsdesigned forhomeuse can take the chemical out of water. Such systems are available for purchase online and at hard- ware stores. Bottledwater is not necessarily
an alternative because it is often drawn from municipal water sys- temsandcan still contain hexava- lent chromium or other contami- nants. The analysis, releasedMonday
by the Environmental Working Group, is the first nationwide look at hexavalent chromium in drinkingwater to bemadepublic. The advocacy group sampled tap water from 35 cities and detected hexavalent chromium in 31 of those communities. Of those, 25 had levels that were higher than a health goal proposed last year by
the state of California. Locally, Bethesda and Wash-
ington had levels of 0.19 parts per billion, more than three times the California goal. The federal government has
not set a limit for hexavalent chromium in drinking water but is reexamining the chemical to decide whether it should impose such restrictions. “This definitely raises the issue
about a national drinking water standard for hexavalent chromi- um and why we don’t have one,” said Lynn Goldman, an epidemi- ologist and former top official at the Environmental Protection Agencywhonowserves asdeanof the School of Public Health at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity. Goldman said the new study demands deeper investigation. “This is the very first signal that there might be a problem,” she said. “But it’s premature to say we know really what the level (of contamination) is, whether it’s there all the time or just intermit- tently, and what the source is.” Sens. Richard J. Durbin (D)
and Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois planned to meet Tuesday with EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jack- son to discuss the report, which found hexavalent chromium in Chicago drinking water at about the same levels as in Bethesda andWashington. Last year, California released a
draft of a “public health goal” for a safe level of hexavalent chromi- um in drinking water: 0.06 parts per billion. If the state sets a limit, it would be the first in the nation. Hexavalent chromium was a commonlyused industrial chemi- cal until the early 1990s. It is still used in some industries, such as chrome plating and the manufac-
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Tainted water? Water in 31 of 35 cities tested in 2009 by the Environmental Working Group, including Bethesda and the District, contained hexavalent chromium.
CITY
Norman, Okla. Honolulu
Riverside, Calif. Madison, Wisc. San Jose, Calif. Tallahassee Omaha
Albuquerque Pittsburgh Bend, Ore.
Salt Lake City
Ann Arbor, Mich. Atlanta
Los Angeles Bethesda, D.C., Phoenix
PARTS PER BILLION 12.90 2.00 1.69 1.58 1.34 1.25 1.07 1.04 .88 .78 .30 .21 .20 .20 .19
Chicago; Milwaukee; Villanova, Pa. .18 Sacramento Louisville
Syracuse, N.Y.
New Haven, Conn. Buffalo
Proposed goal limit set by the California EPA
Las Vegas, New York Scottsdale, Ariz. Miami
Boston; Cincinnati NONE DETECTED
SOURCE: Environmental Working Group
turing of plastics and dyes. The chemical can also leach into groundwater from natural ores. It has long been known that
Christmas THE WASHINGTON POST
.16 .14 .12 .08 .07
.06 .06
.05 .04 .03
Indianapolis; Plano, Tex.; Reno, Nev.; San Antonio
animals. Public awareness about the
possible health effects of hexava- lent chromium was heightened when residents of Hinkley, Calif., accused Pacific Gas & Electric of leaking the chemical into ground- water for more than 30 years. The company paid $333 million in damages in 1996 and pledged to clean up the contamination. The case was the basis for the movie “Erin Brockovich,” which starred Julia Roberts. But a recent California study
found that cancer levels in Hin- kley are not elevated. The Califor- nia Cancer Registry’s third study on the town, released this month, found that cancer rates remained unremarkable from 1988 to 2008. “People have been left with the impression from lawsuits and the movie that there is an excess of cancer in the community, but there is not,” said John W. Mor- gan, the epidemiologist conduct- ing the cancer studies. Still, Morgan said, no one
should draw a conclusion from the Hinkley studies that hexava- lent chromium poses no health risk. “That’s not a question that our data can answer,” he said. Other experts, including Gold-
man, say becauseHinkley’s popu- lation is so small and exposure among residents to hexavalent chromium so varied, it is not unusual that Hinkley’s cancer rate is comparable to other Cali- fornia towns. The American Chemistry
Council, which represents the chemical industry, says the Cali- fornia goal is unrealistic because some water supplies have natu- rally occurring hexavalent chro- mium that is higher than 0.06 parts per billion. In a written statement, the
hexavalent chromium causes cancer in humans if it is inhaled. But in the past several years, researchers have found it causes cancer in animals when it is in- gested. In 2007, the National Toxicolo-
gy Program documented signifi- cant increases in tumors in rats and mice in the oral cavity and small intestine, places where can- cer is rarely seen in laboratory
water21-g PROOF2
Topic: water21
Run Date: 12 / 22/ 2010 Size: 1 by 40p10 Artist: Berkowitz
group’s senior director, Ann Ma- son, said that “even the most sophisticated analytical methods used by EPAare not able to detect the extremely low levels that Cali- fornia wants to establish.” She also wrote that “given that
hexavalent chromium exists nat- urally in groundwater, it is not surprising that it was found in 31 of the 35 sites selectively targeted, which had previously reported the existence of chromium.”
laytonl@washpost.com
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