Nomura Plating/AFP via Getty Images The vat, 10 feet deep, contained hexavalent chromium, which is carcinogenic and can be harmful to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, according to the CDC.

Though the researchers only found hexavalent chromium in samples of wildfire ash and not wildfire smoke itself, Fendorf said they inferred that it was likely also present in the smoke.

California has set a limit for the toxic heavy metal hexavalent chromium in drinking water. Advocates have called for a stricter limit, warning of health risks.

More than three decades after Erin Brockovich recognized that hexavalent chromium was making residents of Hinkley, Calif., sick, state water regulators on Wednesday approved the nation’s first ...

By DORANY PINEDA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators adopted a drinking water limit on toxic hexavalent chromium, a chemical compound made infamous by the movie “Erin ...