According to a report from the Environmental Working Group, water supplies for over 200 million Americans are contaminated by chromium-6. Drinking water containing the carcinogenic chemical was given to rats and mice in a two year study, resulting in the rodents contracting cancer. California scientists set a public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion for the chemical in drinking water, which was seen as a level that would have low risk over a lifetime of consumption. Water sampled in the counties of Floyd, Johnson, and Pike tested positive with levels of chromium-6 at 0.0246, 0.0225, and 0.0210, respectively. These counties also have above average levels of cancer deaths, about 17 percent above Kentucky’s average. Chromium-6 is produced by industrial processes, and is found in the ash of coal burning power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency has not set a specific limit for chromium-6 in drinking water, but OSHA has set strict limits on the airborne chemical in the workplace.