Chromium VI

Overview Policy and Guidance Chemistry and Behavior Environmental Occurrence Toxicology Detection and Site Characterization Treatment Technologies Conferences and Seminars Additional Resources

Environmental Occurrence

Chromium exists in small quantities throughout the environment. Chromite ore (FeCr₂O₄) is the most important commercial ore and is usually associated with ultramafic and serpentine rocks. These are found in the western United States where commercial mining was formally conducted. Chromium is also associated with other ore bodies (e.g., uranium and phosphorites) and may be found in tailings and other beneficiation wastes from these mining operations. Acid mine drainage can make the chromium available to the environment. Chromium and its compounds are used in refractories, drilling muds, electroplating cleaning agents, catalytic manufacture, and in the production of chromic acid and specialty chemicals. Hexavalent chromium compounds are used in the manufacture of pigments, in metal finishing and chrome plating, in stainless steel production, in hide tanning, as corrosion inhibitors, and wood preservation.

A review of the 2003 Toxics Release Inventory showed that 61,441,233 pounds of chromium compounds and 10,383,384 pounds of chromium were released on and off site of facilities using them. It is difficult to classify these releases in terms of trivalent or hexavalent chromium. Combustion activities at utilities, fugitive emissions from road dust, and industrial cooling towers account for a large part of chromium in the atmosphere. Chromium found in utilities emissions and road dust tend to be chromium III. Cooling tower mists will contain chromium VI. In general, most chromium in surface water bodies is found in the sediments in the +3 valence state. However, hexavalent chromium anions will be the predominant form of dissolved chromium. While hexavalent chromium contamination is generally associated with industrial activity, it can occur naturally. Chung, et al (see below), present an argument that the chromate found in groundwater at a site in California is most likely the result of the oxidation of trivalent chromium by native manganese oxides.

Information regarding levels of mercury in specific geographic locations or water bodies may be available in a monitoring or characterization report. The Library of the U.S. Geological Survey provides links to several databases in which such reports can be located.

For Further Information

Chemical Analyses of Soils and Other Surficial Materials of the Conterminous United States
Boerngen, Josephine G., and Shacklette, Hansford T., 1981, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-197, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
Contact: David Smith, dsmith@usgs.gov

Chromate Generation by Chromate Depleted Subsurface Materials
J. Chung, et al.
Water Air and Soil Pollution, 128: 407-417, 2001

Chromium in Soil - Perspectives in Chemistry, Health, and Environmental Regulation
Paul T Kostecki University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Cat. #: 1157
CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. ISBN: 0849311578, 256 pp, 1998

Chromium Life Cycle Study
John F. Papp.
U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines Information Circular, IC-9411, 102 pp., 1994
Contact: John Papp, jpapp@usgs.gov

Chromium(VI) Handbook
2004. Jacques Guertin; James A. Jacobs; Cynthia P. Avakian.
Lewis Publishers/CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. ISBN: 1566706084, 800 pp.

This handbook consolidates literature on the topic of hexavalent chromium. The broad scope of this book is intended to improve the understanding of Cr(VI) behavior in the environment by providing a detailed explanation of the geochemistry that controls the distribution of chromium in its various forms in soil and ground water.

Elements and Their Compounds in the Environment: Occurrence, Analysis and Biological Relevance, Second Edition
E. Merian, M. Anke, M. Ihnat, and M. Stoeppler (eds.).
John Wiley & Sons, New York. ISBN: 3-527-30459-2, 3 Vols, 2004.

Emissions of Metals, Chromium and Nickel Species, and Organics from Municipal Wastewater Sludge Incinerators
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development.
EPA 600-SR-92-003, 8 pp., 1992
Contact: Robin Segall, segall.robin@epa.gov

Chromium-6 in Drinking Water Standard: Sampling Results (for public supply wells)
State of California, Department of Health Services

Hydrogarnet: A Host Phase for Cr(VI) in Chromite Ore Processing Residue (COPR) and Other High pH Wastes
S. Hillier, D.G. Lumsdon, R. Brydson, and E. Paterson.
Environmental Science & Technology, Vol 41 No 6, p 1921-1927, 2007

Calculations based on its abundance and its Cr(VI) content indicate that hydrogarnet can host as much as 50% of the Cr(VI) found in some COPR samples.

Occurrence Survey of Boron and Hexavalent Chromium
M. Frey, C. Seidel, M. Edwards, and J. Parks.
IWA Pub., London. AwwaRF Report 91044F, 124 pp, ISBN: 1843399261, Jan 2006 [Originally published by AwwaRF for its subscribers in 2004]

Toxicological Profile for Chromium
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Sep 2000

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Last updated on Monday, April 7, 2008