Hannah McKitrick became concerned when she noticed rashes and hair loss during her freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. When she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease the following year, she began searching for answers.
She knew that mold reported in some dorms was causing health problems, but together with his doctor determined that it was not causing his problems. But she also noticed that even though she was using a filter, something in the water coming out of the tap was still wrong. So McKitrick turned to a well-known film and one of her favorites, “Erin Brockovich,” which tells the story of a California woman who battled water contamination from a substance called hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6.
Now a senior studying political science and environmental sustainability, McKitrick began doing his own research and discovered that Norman, Oklahoma, the location of the OU campus, had high levels of chromium-6, known to cause skin irritation, as well as more serious kidney and liver damage and other problems.
According to a 2010 study by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization, the levels of chromium-6 found in Norman’s water were well below the EPA Drinking Water standard 100 parts per billion (or 0.1 milligrams per liter). Norman’s levels were measured at just under 40 parts per billion.
However, this value was the highest of any city tested in Oklahoma. And although chromium-6 can be generated by some industrial processes, the EWG story did not identify a potential source of contamination.
According to EWG interactive mapAreas near Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton and several other cities also showed chromium-6 in their water.
McKitrick also learned that although the EPA’s standards for chromium-6 contamination have been based on possible adverse skin reactions over many years, the agency is currently reevaluating its drinking water standards for chromium-6 based on new scientific data from the National Toxicology Program, which concluded that continued long-term exposure caused cancer in laboratory rodents.
Lawmakers to Conduct Study on Chromium-6 Levels in Oklahoma
McKitrick presented her findings to Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, of Oklahoma, the lawmaker for whom she interned in 2023 and 2024. Rosecrants agreed that the issue deserved further investigation and won approval for the topic to be discussed by the Health Committee Public Chamber this fall.
The committee’s interim study will look at the reasons for high levels of chromium-6 in certain areas of Oklahoma and how to reduce those levels. Rosecrans said the committee wants to educate community members and identify solutions, adding that water will be “the biggest problem of our lifetime.”
“If you talk especially to people in rural areas, some of the problems with factories polluting rivers, and the fact that there aren’t a lot of regulations and we’re passing laws to lessen regulations, so I think it’s more important now than never to talk about the fact that water is life,” he said.
McKitrick said he wants the study to demonstrate the need for more research, awareness and protections for residents. During her research, other students mentioned symptoms similar to what she had experienced. Although she said it would be difficult to prove that high levels of chromium-6 were the cause of these symptoms, she said she believed more testing and discussion at the committee would increase public understanding of the issue.
“I think the main thing that people should understand is that it (chromium-6) affects your everyday life and your health, and that it can change your life like it changed mine,” she said.
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), chromium-6 is generally produced by an industrial process, often involving metal welding, and can be used as pigments in dyes, paints and plastics. According to OSHA, “all hexavalent chromium compounds are considered carcinogenic to workers.”
This article originally appeared in the Oklahoman: OU student leads interim study on chromium-6 levels in water
