Chromium-6 in Ocean City tap water, new study shows

Resort, Worcester County tests positive, but levels below federal regulations

A study released by the activist organization Environmental Working Group has discovered that Ocean City’s tap water, along with that from thousands of wells across the nation are contaminated by chromium-6, a heavy metal that poses a multitude of health dangers.

The problem, however, is that there is some dispute over what levels of contamination are acceptable.

According to the study and the resort’s 2015 annual water quality report, Ocean City has an average of .36 parts per billion of chromium-6 in its four distribution plants.

That is well below the standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency — .1 milligrams per liter, or 100 parts per billion - for chromium of all forms, including chromium-6.

Under federal and Maryland Department of the Environment guidelines, municipalities are required to screen for certain unregulated chemicals, including chromium-6, once every five years. The resort completed its testing for the chemical in 2015.

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