RE: Fun with Chromium-6
December 28, 2010 at 6:01 pm
(This post was last modified: December 28, 2010 at 6:06 pm by Ashendant.)
(December 24, 2010 at 3:49 pm)orogenicman Wrote: A water softener will not filter out chromium 6. For that, you need a reverse osmosis filter.
(December 20, 2010 at 4:14 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: Hexavalent chromium effects as a carcinogen have been known for a long time and it is obviously mutagenic when inhaled as dust, but oddly, I've read various papers and court cases it hasn't been established yet whether it is harmful *as a solution* in moderate amounts.
As far as I know we don't have this problem in the UK. If it is a cause for concern you may want to take the time to invest in getting a reverse osmosis water purification unit or filter.
If the UK has any electroplating factories, chances are, you do have a problem with hexavalent chromium.
The EU is quite Bitchy about this i don't know if this particular chemical is in the EU no list but i'm assuming it is
The EU treats it's chemicals seriously
EDIT: found it
Quote:An EU directive approved by the European Parliament March 27 aims to eliminate a hazard faced by millions of construction workers when they handle cement products.
The directive will require the cement industry to neutralize chromium impurities in cement that cause a disabling form of dermatitis.
The new legislation, due to be signed into law by EU ministers in the coming weeks, is modeled on rules imposed by Scandinavian countries since the 1980s. Germany introduced national rules in 2000.
Under the EU directive, it will be illegal to sell cement and cement products containing more than two parts per million of hexavalent chromium. Above that limit, producers will have to treat cement with ferrous sulphate, a substance available as a waste by-product from the chemical industry. The process reduces chromium VI to a harmless form.
A report from the Parliament's Environment Committee recalled that when chromium VI-containing cement was used in the construction of a rail tunnel between England and France, hundreds of workers among a workforce of 5,900 were diagnosed with dermatitis. By comparison, there were only two cases among the 3,000 workers who operated under the protection of Scandinavian law when they constructed the Great Belt Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden.
Author of the report, Belgian deputy Paul Lannoye said the legislation would address a "significant" occupational health problem that forces more than a thousand workers with varying degrees of incapacity out of the construction industry each year. Annual compensation costs exceed $100 million across the EU.
Lannoye added that the law will apply to EU cement production of 200 million metric tons a year, except where cement that is used in enclosed, automated processes where there is no risk to workers of skin contact.
The legislation forms part of a group of EU prohibitions on dangerous substances.
