ITT Analytics plans to use the range to assist US water utilities to measure the cancer-causing elements in water while, at the same time, meeting US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.
The US Department of Health and Human Services, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the EPA have determined that chromium VI is a carcinogen, and that humans and animals exposed to chromium VI in drinking water have an increased risk of gastrointestinal tumours. A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit research organisation, showed there was chromium VI in the drinking water of 31 out of 35 US cities tested, with the highest levels in samples from the towns of Norman, Oklahoma, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Riverside, California. The US EPA has advised US water utilities to test more carefully for its presence in water supplies.
Suitable ITT products include the WTW pHotoFlex photometer and the pHotoLab 6100 VIS research grade spectrophotometer. Both meet the current EPA chromium VI detection limits. The OI Analytical DA 3500 discrete analyser from ITT measures multiple analytes (e.g. chromium VI, phosphate, and nitrite) concurrently, allowing samples to be analysed immediately upon receipt in the laboratory. This colorimetric chemistry analyser enables drinking water facilities to analyse samples for chromium VI within 24 hours as required by the EPA.
