(Cr) Toxicity | ATSDR - CSEM - Agency for Toxic Substances and ...

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Chromium Toxicity
Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM)
Other
Environmental
Sources
2000].
Total chromium has been identified in 939 soil and 472 sediment samples
collected from 1,036 National Priority Lists (NPL) hazardous waste sites
[HazDat 2000].
Chromium waste slag containing potentially hazardous levels of Cr(VI)
compounds was used as fill material at more than 160 residential, industrial,
and recreational sites. Persons living or working in the vicinity of the sites
may have been exposed through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact with
contaminated soils and dusts [Fagliano, Savrin et al. 1997].
Community exposure from this fill occurred in a variety of ways. Wind
erosion of the soil could have made slag particles airborne, increasing the
opportunity for inhalation of chromium. Chromium compounds leached by
rainwater could have migrated through cracks in soil, asphalt roadways, and
masonry walls, forming high-content chromium crystals on their surfaces. In
soil and roadways, these particles might have been eroded by wind and foot
traffic and carried as chromium-laden dust into homes and workplaces.
Children playing in areas where the slag was used as fill might also have
been exposed through skin contact with chromium-contaminated dust, dirt,
and puddles and /or ingestion of contaminated soil.
Other environmental sources of chromium are cement-producing plants
(cement contains chromium), the wearing down of asbestos linings that
contain chromium, emissions of chromium-based automotive catalytic
converters, and tobacco smoke.
The general population is exposed to chromium by eating food or food
supplements, drinking water, and inhaling air that contain chromium. The
mean daily dietary intake of chromium from air, water, and food is estimated
to be