Hexavalent chromium has been identified as a human carcinogen. Evidence to support this contention derives from epidemiologic, animal, and genotoxicity studies. Although workers exposed to both trivalent and hexavalent chromium have been shown to be at an excess risk of respiratory cancer, only hexavalent chromium has been shown to be carcinogenic in animals. Both hexavalent and trivalent chromium have been shown to be mutagenic, but the evidence for hexavalent chromium is somewhat stronger than that for trivalent chromium. The quantitative estimation of the cancer risk due to hexavalent chromium in the ambient air is calculated on the basis of lung cancer mortality data for chromate production workers. The lifetime respiratory cancer risk due to 1 microgram/cu m) of hexavalent chromium in the ambient air is estimated to be 1.2 x .002 on the basis of Mancuso's data and 9.4 x .003 on the basis of the Braver et al. data.