Graterford Prison Water System Has Toxin Made Famous By Erin Brockovich, Study Says

The Graterford prison water system has tested positive for chromium-6, the cancer-causing toxin that was made famous in the 2000 Julia Roberts movie "Erin Brockovich," according to a new study published Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group.

Although the water provided by local agencies does not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection's maximum of 100 parts per billion (ppb) of total chromium, it does exceed 0.02 parts per billion, a level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set as a public health goal in 2011, the study explains. That level "would pose negligible risk over a lifetime of consumption," according to the study.

Graterford's water supply was found to have 0.065 ppb of the toxin in its water.

Here are the Montgomery County agencies and the average levels of Chromium-6 detected, according to the study:

• Ambler Borough Water Department - 0.17 ppb
• Aqua PA - Hatboro - 0.22 ppb
• Aqua PA - Main System - 0.28 ppb
• East Greenville Boro. Water Dept. - 0.041 ppb
• Horsham Water & Sewer Authority - 0.093 ppb
• North Penn Water Authority - 0.099 ppb
• North Wales Water Authority - 0.087 ppb
• PA American Water Co. - Norristown - 0.93 ppb
• Pottstown Borough Water Authority - 0.25 ppb
• SCI Graterford - 0.065 ppb

The toxin causes cancer, reproductive problems and liver damage even from little exposure, the report says. Environmental Working Group estimates that if left untreated, Chromium-6 in tap water will cause more than 12,000 excess cases of cancer by the end of the century.

California set 0.02 parts per billion as its goal after Brockovich was successful in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993 that blamed the company for contaminating local water.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment, analyzed federal data from nationwide drinking water tests showing that the compound contaminates water supplies for more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states.

"Yet federal regulations are stalled by a chemical industry challenge that could mean no national regulation of a chemical state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer when ingested at even extraordinarily low levels," according to the report.

Click here to see the full list of Pennsylvania towns included in the study.
Read the full study at the Environmental Working Group website here.

Water contamination has been a prominent issue in parts of Montgomery County, after elevated levels of perfluorinated compounds were found in water near the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base.

Patch file photo.