Chromium And Drinking Water: What You Should Know
What is chromium and how does it contaminate your home's drinking water? Learn about chromium-contaminated water and how Kinetico can help.
What is Chromium
Chromium is a tasteless and odorless metallic element naturally found in rocks, soil and plants. There are two most common forms of naturally occurring chromium.
- Trivalent Chromium (chromium-III)
- Essential to our diet
- Found in fruits, vegetables, meats, yeast, and grains.
- Hexavalent Chromium (chromium-VI)
- Natural in the environment by erosion
- Produced by industrial processes and introduced to the environment by poor storage, leakage, or poor disposal of industrial waste
- Much more toxic than chromium-III
Both forms of chromium are used in industry for chrome plating, dyes and pigments, leather tanning and wood preserving. Those who work with chromium in industry or who live near a hazardous waste site are the most at risk for chromium exposure. According to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) drinking water regulations, the safe limit for chromium in water is 100 parts per billion (ppb).
Curious About Your Home's chromium levels? Get A Quick Quote Today
Chromium-III is an essential dietary element. Chromium-VI can be dangerous.
How To Reduce Chromium Levels In Water
Consuming water with elevated levels of chromium can be dangerous and can cause adverse health effects. It can be difficult to know for sure what’s in your water and the potential effects it can have. The best way to learn more about your water is to schedule a water test with your local Kinetico water professional.
Simply boiling your water or using an activated charcoal filter will not work as a way to reduce the levels of chromium in your home's drinking water, but using a Kinetico drinking water system is a great solution. Installing a point-of-use reverse osmosis system, like Kinetico's K5 Drinking Water Station, will help improve the quality of your drinking water by significantly reducing chromium and other contaminants that could be in your drinking water.
Knowing more about your water is the first step in determining which drinking water system is best for your home. Once you know what you are dealing with, you can install the correct system and have peace of mind that the water you and your family consume is truly clean and refreshing.
Contact An Authorized Kinetico Dealer For A Quick Quote Today