A sampling and analysis program was conducted to determine concentrations of chromium in the air, water and soil in the environs of industrial sites and sewage treatment plants. Five industrial categories - chrome pigments producers, electroplating plants, ferrochromium plants, leather tanneries, and sodium dichromate/chromic acid producers - were presurveyed to select the final sampling sites. Samples were gathered at two chrome pigment plants, an electroplating plant, a leather tannery and two sewage treatment plants. The protocol for sampling air utilized high-volume samplers in either a downwind array or in a plant perimeter geometry. Composite 24-hour water samples were taken and soil core samples were obtained. The techniques employed for analysis of the environmental samples were intended to differentiate between the two most common chromium valence states (III and VI). This was accomplished for water samples but not for air, soil or sediment samples because acid digestion converted chromium (VI) to chromium (III). All analyses were obtained on a Varian AA-6 atomic absorption spectrometer.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 55). "Monsanto Research Corporation; EPA contract no. 68-01-1980; EPA project officer: Vincent DeCarlo." "EPA-560/6-77-016." "July 1977."