Pass (on) the Perchlorate, Please

On 22 September 2008 the Washington Post ran a story about EPA considering a limit on perchlorate (the perchlorate ion is ClO4 -) in drinking water, but under pressure from the Pentagon not to do so. As a salt, perchlorate frequently occurs in combination with the ammonium ion (NH4ClO4) or with the metals sodium, (NaClO4) potassium (KClO4), and lithium (LiClO4).

Perchlorate salts also occur naturally - I believe they were found in Martian soils - but has become best known (or "infamous") as a component of aviation fuel, assorted chemicals and as a water contaminant. It's been found in the Colorado River.

Here are the first few paragraphs of Juliet Eilperin's story:

The Environmental Protection Agency, under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon, is poised to rule as early as today that it will not set a drinking-water safety standard for perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children across the nation.

According to a near-final document obtained by The Washington Post, the EPA's "preliminary regulatory determination" -- which was extensively edited by White House officials -- marks the final step in a six-year-old battle between career EPA scientists who advocate regulating the chemical and White House and Pentagon officials who oppose it. The document estimates that up to 16.6 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate at a level many scientists consider unsafe; independent researchers, using federal and state data, put the number at 20 million to 40 million.

Some perchlorate occurs naturally, but most perchlorate contamination in U.S. drinking water stems from improper disposal by rocket test sites, military bases and chemical plants. A nationwide cleanup could cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, and several defense contractors have threatened to sue the Defense Department to help pay for it if one is required.

And now this AP story from the 23 September 2008 edition of the Wichita Falls (TX) Times Record News:

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.

EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press.

The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.

The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems."

The conclusion, which caps years of dispute over the issue, was denounced by Democrats and environmentalists who accused EPA of caving to pressure from the Pentagon.

The Pentagon connection is important because much of the perchlorate contamination is due to DoD-related and aerospace-related activities, and the Department could face liability for water contamination. So DoD would like the standard set as high as possible or preferably, no standard at all. With no standard, water purveyors would not have to remove perchlorate from their drinking-water supplies, so presto! No liability!

So EPA is going to pass on the perchlorate, with no doubt a furtive "Thank you!" from DoD.

"Science, not the politics of fear in an election year, will drive our final decision."  --Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water (21 September 2008)