Study: Tap Water Still Has Toxins Found Nearly 20 Years Ago

(NewsCore) - Drinking water in millions of U.S. homes is highly contaminated with cancer-causing hexavalent chromium, according to an environmental group study released Monday.

Almost 20 years after the hazardous chemical was made infamous by Erin Brockovich, the Environmental Working Group claims it is present in the tap water of 31 out of 35 U.S. cities it tested.

“Millions of Americans are drinking water contaminated with the carcinogenic chemical ... despite mounting evidence of the contaminant’s toxic effects,” the report concluded.

California is the only state that has begun to make progress, proposing that levels should not exceed 0.06 parts per billion. By that measure, 25 of the tested areas would have exceeded the limit.

Brockovich secured the largest direct-action legal payout in U.S. history for 600 poisoned residents of Hinkley, Calif., who had been drinking the contaminated water for more than 30 years. Pacific Gas & Electric was accused of leaking hexavalent chromium into the town's groundwater and forced to pay $333 million damages.

She said, “This chemical has been so widely used by so many industries across the U.S. that this doesn’t surprise me. Our municipal water supplies are in danger all over the U.S.”

The president of the Environmental Working Group, Ken Cook, said that it would be expensive to clean the water if a limit was set.

In 2000 Brockovich was celebrated in an Oscar-winning film starring Julia Roberts.