California sets long-awaited drinking water limit for 'Erin Brockovich' contaminant

LOS ANGELES - California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie "Erin Brockovich."

The rule is the first in the nation to specifically target the heavy metal, known as chromium-6, and is expected to reduce the number of cancer and kidney disease cases from long-term ingestion, state officials say.

Ana Maria Perez, a Monterey County resident, urged the board to set a lower limit that would protect communities with chronic water contamination.

It comes in various forms, including chromium-6, and is used in electroplating, stainless steel production, leather tanning, textile manufacturing and wood preservation, which all can contribute to drinking water contamination, according to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

But, she added, a maximum of 10 parts per billion is an important start that should then be "adjusted according to both the public health issues that arise, and the new research data, at specific regular intervals."

The standard is the latest chapter in a decades-long fight to regulate the chemical that gained notoriety with the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," which won Julia Roberts the Best Actress Oscar.