Health Officials Push for New Drinking Water Standards

Officials from California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment are seeking more stringent standards for the levels of the hexavalent chromium chemical in drinking water. According to agency researchers, exposure to the chemical in infants and young children could increase cancer risk later in life. The proposal for tougher standards is undergoing a public comment period, and a final benchmark is expected by mid-2011.

• "State Proposes Tougher Standards for Chemical in Drinking Water" (Danelski, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/3).