EPA Against Limits on Rocket Fuel Ingredient in Drinking Water

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that it is not necessary to eliminate a toxic rocket fuel ingredient from public drinking water. The ingredient, perchlorate, has been detected at more than 395 sites in 35 states at levels that are high enough to pose health risks to humans, according to some scientists.

Perchlorate was used by the Defense Department for decades in testing missiles and rockets, and last year congressional investigators ruled that most perchlorate contamination is the result of defense and aerospace activities. Some scientists say that the ingredient can interfere with thyroid function and can pose developmental risks, particularly for babies and fetuses.

The EPA reached their decision about perchlorate in a draft regulatory document that has not been made public but that was reviewed by The Associated Press. In the document, the EPA says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not produce a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems."

The conclusion was criticized by Democrats and environmentalists who accused the EPA of caving to pressure from the Pentagon.

"This is a widespread contamination problem, and to see the Bush EPA just walk away is shocking," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, who chairs the Senate's environment committee.

Lenny Siegel, director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, said, "This is an unconscionable decision not based upon science or law but on concern that a more stringent standard could cost the government significantly."

The Pentagon could face liability if the EPA were to set a national standard for perchlorate that would make water agencies perform costly clean-up efforts. Defense officials have questioned the EPA's conclusions about perchlorate for years.

The Pentagon has strongly denied suggestions that it sought to influence the EPA's decision. "We have not intervened in any way in EPA's determination not to regulate perchlorate. If you read their determination, that's based on criteria in the Safe Drinking Water Act," said Paul Yaroschak, Pentagon deputy director for emerging contaminants.

Yaroschak also said that in addition to the Pentagon working to clean up perchlorate at their facilities for years, there is evidence that the Pentagon is not the source of as much contamination as once believed. He said that it also comes from fireworks, road flares, and fertilizer.

Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA's assistant administrator for water, said in a statement that "science, not the politics of fear in an election year, will drive our final decision."

He said that the EPA expected to seek comment and take final action before the year ends. Some states have begun to act on their own. California adopted a drinking water standard of 6 parts per billion in 2007, and Massachusetts has set a standard of 2 parts per billion.

Source: "EPA against limiting rocket fuel ingredient in water." CNN.com. September 22, 2008.