<P> In September 2010, scientists at the EPA came to the startling conclusion that "even a small amount of a chemical compound commonly found in tap water may cause cancer ." Steven Patierno, who had served as expert defense witness for seven chromium (VI) lawsuits was surprisingly named by the EPA to serve on the peer review panel to critique the EPA's chromium (VI) findings which is a potential conflict of interest . A team of investigative journalists from the Center for Public Integrity revealed this in their series entitled Toxic Clout . </P> <P> One of PG&E key expert witnesses was Steven R. Patierno, deputy director of the Duke Cancer Institute and a former professor of pharmacology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences who had conducted numerous studies on chromium and who argues that "drinking low doses of chromium (VI) does not cause cancer ." Patierno has co-authored papers with ChemRisk's founder - director Dennis Paustenbach who also provided expert defense witnesses for PG&E . In 1996 Paustenbach and Steven Patierno were co-authors of an article arguing that chromium 6 is not genotoxic . Paustenbach and ChemRisk have "drawn the scrutiny of investigative journalists ." </P>

Why did pg&e even tell the citizens of hinkley about the chromium