Following Hexavalent Chromium Spill, Lake Michigan Appears Unharmed

Prompted by an industrial malfunction, the Chicago Department of Water Management (CDWM) located an elevated level of hexavalent chromium in Lake Michigan during recent water testing.

Despite the discovery, experts say there is not much to be concerned about, as the chemical level is not believed to be high enough to be dangerous.

According to the Chesterton Tribune, the discovery was made two days after a mechanical malfunction at U.S. Steel Corporation’s Midwest Plant. The malfunction caused an unknown amount of the carcinogenic chemical to be released into Burns Waterway.

Earlier this month, the U.S. EPA stated that “it had no reason yet to believe that there is any hexavalent chromium present in Lake Michigan near drinking water intakes.” However, the agency was still awaiting the results of nearly 100 water samples at the time of the report.

The CDWM reported that a sample from Lake Michigan contained hexavalent chromium at a level of 2 ppb. “10 other samples taken in the same area of Lake Michigan contained levels no higher than 0.21 parts per billion,” according to the Tribune.

The EPA reported that “preliminary data suggest that hexavalent chromium from the spill is not present near drinking water intakes.”

“The fact that these dangerous chemicals have not reached Chicago’s water supply is simply due to good luck, and not good actions by U.S. Steel,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, according to the Tribune. “We cannot and will not tolerate careless conduct by companies that would threaten the health and safety of our residents.”

Emanuel added that U.S. Steel has to “explain how they allowed a dangerous chemical into a Lake Michigan tributary where it could harm millions of people in Indiana and Illinois.”

The company has said in the statement that it has found the source of the release and has made the required repairs.