EPA Will Not Regulate Rocket Fuel Toxins In Drinking Water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided against the national regulation of perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel that contaminates drinking water at sites in at least 35 states. The EPA has decided that since this is a state specific situation, it should be addressed at the state level.
Perchlorate interferes with the thyroid gland’s ability to absorb iodine inhibiting thyroid hormones that are necessary for brain development and cellular growth of infants. The chemical has been found not only in drinking water but also in lettuce and milk. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration reported finding perchlorate in 217 of 232 samples of milk and lettuce in 15 states.
California and Massachusetts have already passed laws regulating perchlorate in drinking water as it has been detected at public water supply wells in California and in groundwater plumes issuing from the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod. According to the EPA website, “Contamination of groundwater and of the Colorado River affects important drinking water and irrigation water supplies. There may be over 30 sites with perchlorate in California alone. Thirteen of these are EPA Superfund sites and the state of California leads cleanup efforts at 12 other sites.”
U. S. Senator Barbara Boxer of California responded immediately to the EPA’s announcement:
“The Bush EPA’s failure to set a standard for perchlorate, a dangerous contaminant found in drinking water, is outrageous and I will do everything in my power to reverse it. Perchlorate contamination endangers the health of our families, especially pregnant women and children, and to simply allow it to remain in our drinking water is immoral.”
Further information about the EPA and water topics can be found on the water topics section of the EPA website.
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