Durbin, Kirk call for water testing

Illinois' two senators Tuesday called for more rigorous testing of Lake Michigan tap water, which may contain a cancer-causing metal that local residents could be ingesting.

Following a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and new Republican Sen. Mark Kirk requested that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency work with the national organization to step up the testing of drinking water in the Chicago area.

A study by the Environmental Working Group, released Monday, found that the cancer-causing metal compound chromium-6 was present in Chicago drinking water at an average level of .18 parts per billion.

While the federal limit for total chromium in tap water is 100 parts per billion, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that chromium-6 ingestion has harmful effects on human health, and can be linked to stomach cancer, among other things.

Chicago did not have the highest levels of chromium-6 among the cities studied. Of the 35 cities tested in the study, Chicago ranked 18th. However, its levels were still higher than proposed safety limits.

The study only relied on a small sample, but there is concern that suburban areas also using Lake Michigan water may be affected.

Along with Chicago, all of Cook County's Northwest suburbs rely on Lake Michigan for water — supplying roughly 7 million people. And this summer, 11 suburban communities in Lake County joined together to work to transition from using groundwater to Lake Michigan water because of growing demands. They include Antioch, Fox Lake, Hawthorn Woods, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, Lindenhurst, Long Grove, Volo and Wauconda.

A letter by Durbin and Kirk to Illinois IPA Director Doug Scott suggests “communities tap into the resources of the U.S. EPA (to) provide peace of mind to Illinois residents dependent on public drinking water.”

Durbin said that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson assured him that the agency “is taking the report seriously and is in the process of evaluating at what level chromium-6 should be regulated.”

Chromium-6 is commonly used in the production of stainless steel, and in the textile and aircraft industries. In 1990, the government banned its use as an anti-corrosive agent in industrial cooling towers.