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SACRAMENTO — State health officials are taking the first step toward setting safe drinking water standards for chromium 6, a potential carcinogen that has been found in some water sources in Southern California.  

The state has been investigating the extent of chromium 6 contamination, requiring water districts to test for the chemical by summer 2002. 

Initial results have found more chromium 6 than expected. 

“Conventional wisdom was that there was more chromium 3 and very little chromium 6 in the groundwater,” said David Spath of the state Department of Health Services said Tuesday.  

“We found the opposite, which heightened the issue.” 

State health officials said Tuesday they will look at the health effects of ingesting chromium 6. It’s the first step toward setting a safe drinking water level for the chemical. Chromium acquired a high profile thanks in part to the film “Erin Brockovich,” about a 1996 case in which residents of the California desert town of Hinkley won a $333 million settlement from Pacific Gas & Electric when the utility company’s tanks leaked high concentrations of chromium 6 into ground water. 

Chromium can take two different forms in water – chromium 3, which is found naturally in food and is an essential dietary nutrient, and chromium 6, which scientists say can lead to cancer when inhaled. 

State health officials say it has not been conclusively proven that chromium 6 is a carcinogen when ingested. Under state law, the health department must evaluate technical feasibility and treatment costs before deciding whether to establish drinking-water standards. 

The University of California will convene a panel to study chromium 6 and help set the health standards, Spath said. The state will spend $100,000 on the panel and preliminary work on setting safe limits. 

Matthew Shaffer of the California Public Interest Research Group, a consumer organization, said he was concerned that the state was spending money on research that could have been spent on upgrading water treatment plants. 

“It is clear that there are a number of pollutants in our drinking water that haven’t been tested. We believe it would be wise to upgrade treatment,” he said.  

Chromium 6, a byproduct of industrial manufacturing, has been found in concentrations as high as 30 parts per billion in the San Fernando Valley aquifer, a source of drinking water for Los Angeles and other cities.