Metal
CR6Hexavalent Chromium
The health basis on which the EPA sets this contaminant's legal limit. Reported verbatim from the regulatory record — it is not a diagnosis or a prediction about any individual.
Known human carcinogen linked to stomach, lung, and nasal cancers with long-term ingestion. California PHG is 0.02 ug/L.
- Maximum contaminant level
- 10 µg/LLegal MCLEnforceable federal limit
- Health goal
- 0.020 µg/LHealth goal (MCLG)No known health risk
- Category
- MetalCategory
- Reporting unit
- µg/LReporting unit
Regulatory basis
How Hexavalent Chromium is regulated
What the enforceable limit actually obliges a utility to do, and how it differs from the health-based goal it is measured against.
Two different numbers govern Hexavalent Chromium, and they are not interchangeable. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is 10 µg/L — the enforceable ceiling. A system reporting above it is in violation and owes its customers notification and corrective action. The health goal (MCLG) is 0.020 µg/L and is not enforceable.
The gap between 0.020 µg/L and 10 µg/L is the distance between what the health-effects record points to and what treatment technology and cost make enforceable. Inside that band a result is above the health goal and below the legal limit at the same time, and is reported as compliant. Where the health goal on record comes from a state public-health goal rather than the federal MCLG, the health-effects note below says so.
Results are reported in µg/L. A laboratory result and the limits above are only comparable when both are expressed in that same unit — a value in a different unit will be off by orders of magnitude. WaterQualityLens groups Hexavalent Chromium under Metal for navigation; the grouping is ours, the limits are the regulator’s.
The record for Hexavalent Chromium
- Enforceable limit (MCL)
- 10 µg/L
- Health goal (MCLG)
- 0.020 µg/L
- Reporting unit
- µg/L
- Category
- Metal
- Contaminant code
- CR6
Limits as published by EPA and state primacy agencies. This page reports regulatory and certification records; it does not assess anyone’s exposure and makes no health prediction.
Certification scope
Which certifications actually remove Hexavalent Chromium
Only NSF/ANSI 53, 58 and 401 are health-contaminant standards. A product certified only to Standard 42 (aesthetics) or 372 (lead-free materials) has not been verified to reduce Hexavalent Chromium, however the box is worded.
NSF/ANSI 53
Counts — health standardHealth effects: lead, VOCs, cysts, chromium, and (post-P473) PFAS reduction.
4 filters in our registry hold an independently verified NSF/ANSI 53 claim for Hexavalent Chromium, listed below.
NSF/ANSI 58
Counts — health standardReverse osmosis: dissolved inorganics, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and total PFAS.
2 filters in our registry hold an independently verified NSF/ANSI 58 claim for Hexavalent Chromium, listed below.
NSF/ANSI 401
Counts — health standardEmerging/incidental compounds: pharmaceuticals and select trace contaminants.
No filter in our registry holds a verified NSF/ANSI 401 claim for Hexavalent Chromium. That means we hold no certification record — not that the standard could never cover it.
NSF/ANSI 42
Does not count — not a health standardAesthetic effects: chlorine, taste, odor, particulates. No health-contaminant protection.
No registry product lists Hexavalent Chromium under NSF/ANSI 42. It would not count as verification of Hexavalent Chromium reduction in any case.
NSF/ANSI 372
Does not count — not a health standardLead-free materials (manufacturing content only). Not a water-treatment claim.
No registry product lists Hexavalent Chromium under NSF/ANSI 372. It would not count as verification of Hexavalent Chromium reduction in any case.
Counts are of active products in the WaterQualityLens filter registry holding a verified claim for contaminant code CR6 under that standard, as recorded by the certifying body (NSF, WQA, or IAPMO). Certification is granted per contaminant, not per product: a filter certified to Standard 53 for one contaminant is not thereby certified for Hexavalent Chromium.
Entity graph
Systems reporting Hexavalent Chromium
Water systems in our coverage whose most recent published sample set includes Hexavalent Chromium. Each value carries its sample date and the agency that reported it.
Certified reduction · commercial placements
Filters verified to reduce Hexavalent Chromium
These filters hold an independent NSF/ANSI health certification (Standard 53, 58, or 401) specifically for Hexavalent Chromium. Certification against a health standard means an accredited lab verified the filter reduces this contaminant — a materials-only claim such as NSF 42 or 372 does not.
- Verified PartnerZeroWater
5-Stage Ready-Pour Pitcher
ZW-ZD010RPPitcher$39.99NSF/ANSI 53Certified by NSF
- Verified PartnerEpic Water
Pure Filter Pitcher
EP-PURE10Pitcher$69.95NSF/ANSI 53Certified by WQA
- Verified PartnerClearly Filtered
Affinity Filtered Water Pitcher
CF-AFFINITYPitcher$90NSF/ANSI 53Certified by WQA
- Verified PartnerFrizzlife
M800 Under-Sink Reverse Osmosis
FZ-M800Under-sink RO$399NSF/ANSI 58Certified by NSF
- Verified PartnerAquaTru
Classic Countertop RO
AT-CLASSICCountertop RO$449NSF/ANSI 53Certified by NSF
- Verified PartnerWaterdrop
G3P800 Under-Sink RO
WD-G3P800Under-sink RO$549NSF/ANSI 58Certified by NSF
Hardware links are affiliate placements marked “Verified Partner.” Products appear here solely because they hold an independently verified NSF/ANSI health certification for Hexavalent Chromium; commercial arrangements never affect this list.