Perchlorate, Rocket Fuel Chemical In Drinking Water, To Be Regulated By EPA

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is setting the first federal drinking water standard for a toxic rocket fuel ingredient linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and young children, the Obama administration announced on Wednesday.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson said that setting the standard will protect public health and spark new technologies to clean up drinking water. Based on monitoring conducted from 2001 to 2005, 153 drinking water sources in 26 states contain perchlorate. The standard could take up to two years to develop, the EPA said.

Perchlorate is also used in fireworks and explosives. In most cases, water contamination has been caused by improper disposal at rocket testing sites, military bases and chemical plants.

"As improved standards are developed and put in place . clean water technology innovators have an opportunity to create cutting edge solutions that will strengthen health protections and spark economic growth," Jackson said in a statement.

Jackson is expected to make that case before a Senate panel Wednesday, where she will likely face opposition from Republicans who plan to take on the EPA over air pollution regulations, controls on the gases blamed for global warming, and other regulations. Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the environment panel, will bring forward legislation Wednesday to strip the agency of its ability to control heat-trapping gases under the Clean Air Act. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., will release an identical draft bill.

Democrats, who have pushed for the EPA to regulate perchlorate, say the decision shows the administration standing up for rules that protect public health, even if they burden business. President Barack Obama recently announced a review of all regulations to reduce barriers to economic growth and investment.

The perchlorate standard is eight years in the making. In 2002, an EPA draft risk assessment found that 1 part per billion should be considered safe. Six years later, the Bush administration decided not to regulate the chemical, instead recommending that concentrations not exceed 15 parts per billion. At the time, federal scientists estimated that 16.6 million Americans could be exposed to unsafe levels through their drinking water.

California and Massachusetts in the meantime have set state-level drinking water standards.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who has sponsored legislation to require the EPA to set a standard, said in a statement Wednesday that she was pleased the government was "finally going to protect our families from perchlorate." California has the most water supplies affected – 58, according to the 2001-05 data. Many of the others are in Texas.

"I will do everything I can to make sure this new protection moves forward," Boxer said.

Pentagon officials have spent years questioning the EPA's assessment of perchlorate's risk but have denied influencing the agency's decisions. The military could face liability for tainting water during rocket and missile testing, since the standard will force water agencies around the country to clean up the pollution.

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Online:

EPA's perchlorate website: http://tinyurl.com/EPAperchlorate

Comments

[B Rowshan]

04:11 AM on 02/05/2011

water is the most important and abundant resource we have. we need it to have a balanced and healthy life but can't we just boil water and drink it? i think around 75% of Americans are dehydrated and do not realize how important it is. they would much rather drink coke, which probably is rocket fuel anyway.(red-bull sure is)

we meed to educate ourselves about the simple things and stop being scared and let the world be. Just boil your water and drink it

here is some more interesting and useful facts about water
http://tenmillionslaves.blogspot.com/2009/08/seems-so-obvious.html

[fdeltz]

04:33 PM on 02/04/2011

Hydrogen peroxide is also rocket fuel, and many of us have it in our medicine cabinets. I haven't investigated the science behind this one yet. Perhaps it's valid, perhaps not, but the alarmist - sky is falling rocket fuel semantics does an injustice to science and blocks rational discourse.

[SageSpencer]

06:50 PM on 02/04/2011

Should the thyroid glands of the entire country be test subjects?

Oh, and Hydrogen peroxide is also rocket fuel therefore being alarmist about perchlorate is irrational... is a fallacious argument.

[fdeltz]

12:34 AM on 02/05/2011

undefined

[fdeltz]

12:34 AM on 02/05/2011

You either chose to not read my words or to deliberately misunderstand. I repeat:   I haven't investigated the science behind this one yet. Perhaps it's valid, perhaps not.

And yes there is plenty of reason not to overreact. Many of these chemicals either exist in nature (in tiny amounts) or are harmless in nano-quanitites. So if it costs society five billion dollars to chase a non-issue then there is five billion less to spend on a real issue. Only an alarmist, antiscience, individual  would not see the logic of this.

Recent examples:  mercury in childhood shots - now known as fallacious, yet many parents did not get their children the vaccinations they need.

Silicone implants (yes, many are prosthetic). Destroyed an industry, many lost jobs, investments, etc, - now known to be based on junk science and quietly (never makes the news headlines when the news is  - nevermind!) reinstated.

IN addition there is no fallacious argument  I did not claim that hydrogen peroxide is the same as Perchlorate. What I did say was that the semantics of using the phrase "rocket fuel" (and yes, there are many other uses of perchlorates) is semantically loaded and not conducive to intelligent discourse..  But I'm afraid you made that  point better than I ever could.

[Villagesviewpoint]

03:57 PM on 02/04/2011

Well I can't believe we need the government getting involved in any thing at all.

I mean after all, if rocket fuel is in our water, then the good lord wanted it that way, and by golly that is the way it should stay.

We don't need a bunch of pencil pushers from Washington D C coming around telling us what we can have in our childrens water and what we can't.

I suppose this is where my hard earned tax dollar is going, being used to stop us from drinking rocket fuel. Well I'm here to tell you, on our farm we have been drinking rocket fuel for as long as I can remember, and by GOD I'll keep drinking it, I don't want some socialist, Nazi, Nigerian government telling me and my family what we can do, and I don't care if it's good for me or not. By GOD if it was good enough for my pappy (GOD rest his soul) it's good enough for me.

[SageSpencer]

06:51 PM on 02/04/2011

LMAO!

[Kenz300]

03:35 PM on 02/04/2011

Clean air, water and food.

Necessary for survival.

[StephenJK]

06:11 AM on 02/04/2011

Sorry for the 'casm, but, yeah, by all means. We must regulate this toxic ingredient in our drinking water. Some places will not have the recommended dosage and will need more put into their drinking water. So, please everyone, hang on to your perchlorate in case your neighbors need some in a pinch. Very important we all educate ourselves on the correct levels of perchlorate in our tap water.

[DesperOde]

04:06 PM on 02/03/2011

Houston...home to one of our country's largest production operations and one of the best cancer treatment centers around.

[rsaillant1]

07:57 AM on 02/03/2011

Did I miss something?

How about a list of those 26 states?
Mentioned were California and Massachusetts as states that
have set state level standards.

Frightening headline followed by empty article....becoming
a HuffPo trend? "Sky Is On Fire," film at 11:00

[Eyeful]

04:45 AM on 02/03/2011

"153 drinking water sources in 26 states contain perchlorate. The standard could take up to two years to develop, the EPA said."

"The perchlorate standard is eight years in the making."

Just like reforming health care. How many years did it take to get a bastardized version of reform only to still have to wait 4 more years before implementing it? And it still might get repealed.

[ginamarie101]

02:38 PM on 02/04/2011

parts of it have already been enacted, several more parts will be enacted within the next two years, it will be fully enacted by 2014
it won't be repealed
relax

[mudshark12]

01:37 AM on 02/03/2011

Personally I drink filtered water because of all the toxins that have been allowed to get into our water supply and I think it's high time that something was done about this.

[Eyeful]

04:28 AM on 02/03/2011

You might be able to reduce perchlorate with a filter, but you can't remove it altogether. And what about crop irrigation? Most contaminated wells are in California where a lot of produce is grown, including organic farms.

http://watertestingblog.com/2010/11/24/perchlorates-found-in-drinking-water/

[mudshark12]

01:27 AM on 02/04/2011

Thank you for this info, knowledge is power. At least I'm doing what I can to limit my poison intake until this crap is cleaned up. The cleanup of our water supply may not even happen in my lifetime but at least people are waking up to the fact that their tap water isn't safe to drink. I'm mainly concerned that flouride is removed from the water supply as it's poisonous. There are so many chemicals in the water we drink that an internet search will scare you, especially about Hexavalent Chromium in abundance.

[farmilyman]

01:33 AM on 02/03/2011

No wonder the GOP wants to dismantle the EPA. It exposes too many companies to scrutiny.

[Marioam]

01:19 AM on 02/03/2011

And people worry about second hand smoke. Are you kidding me, There is Rocket Fuel Additive in your drinking water! And noone thinks this is not as dangerous as second hand smoke.
They go after smokers to, excuse the pun, use as a smoke screen to hide all the other carcigans and foul chemicals that everyone lives with on a daily basis.
My neighborhood has what is called a cancer cluster, not from second hand smoke, but from all the chemicals the lumber industry dumped into the ground years ago. We have babies dying from non smokeing families from brain cancer here in north Louisana.
Wake up people and dont drink the water.

[Steve Rockett]

08:17 PM on 02/02/2011

Put a carafe of the contaminated water out in front of each regressive after they eat pretzels and salted pork (the other white meat). Tell them that the water is contaminated and let's see how these clowns vote then. Televise this for all Americans to see. Put red dye in Boehner's; he will think it is merlot.

[Morgenstern]

07:22 PM on 02/02/2011

I don't want the guvment regulatin' my water! If I wanna drink tainted rocket water den thats mah right as en 'merican!

[Steve Rockett]

08:18 PM on 02/02/2011

Well put, suh. I say, I say, these cahpet baggahs will be the death of us decent folk.

[idelwind]

12:23 PM on 02/03/2011

Mint Julep anyone?

[MiddleAmericaMS]

06:58 PM on 02/02/2011

Oh nooooooooooooo!

The hard left is destroying our country with their clean water regulations, just like the Nazis did!

Of course the GOP wants to privatize our water & abolish the EPA & deregulate everything.

But, do Republican voters understand such basic things? Nooooo.

[tjconkster]

06:29 PM on 02/02/2011

I predict that the collective heads of RepubliCorp/Republican Tea Party will explode over this.....