Chromium is a metal that is found in soil and groundwater.Trace amounts of trivalent
Certain chemical reactions can convert chromium atoms into a hexavalent form: this chemical cancreate genetic mutations in cells that cause cancer.
Haizhou Liu, professor of chemical engineering andin environmental engineering from the Marlan and Rosemary Bournes College of Engineering, studied the chemical process of water treatment and was convinced that some of the chromium that ends up in drinking water may be the result of chemical reactions between water disinfectants and chromium from pipe rust.
Liu and a group of scientists studiedsections of two pipes that had been in operation for about five years. They then scraped off the rust, ground it into a powder, and measured the amount and types of chromium present. Next, they exposed the samples to hypochlorous acid, a form of chlorine commonly used in municipal drinking water treatment plants and drinking water distribution systems.
As a result of the experiment, chromium, which was found in rusty iron pipes, was converted into its toxic hexavalent form.
Our research results change ourtraditional thinking is that we control hexavalent chromium in drinking water. It also highlights how important it is to manage drinking water distribution infrastructure to control toxic substances in tap water.
Haizhou Liu, Marlan and Rosemary Bournes Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering,
A group of researchers urges to reducelaying pipes with a high content of chromium alloy, as well as using disinfectants that are less chemically active in relation to chromium, for example, monochloramine.
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