Rocket Fuel Contamination

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

ROCKET FUEL CONTAMINATION NEAR SACRAMENTO

RCoughran@aol.com wrote:

 I have not seen any "California state officials" anouncement about the
perchlorate problem, but I can assure you that it has been a concern in
this area for the past six months or so. Aerojet used perchloate in the
production of solid reckets here for many years; they still do. In the
past, waste propellent was dunped on the ground. Aerojet knew it had
been used but there was no process avaiable to test for it.

Aerojet developed at test process on their own. The inital detection
limit was 400 PPB, When they tested they found that water that they had
extracted to remove VOC's contained up to 8000 PPB when it was
reinjected into the ground. There have been no studies of this
substance. Any opinion about its effects is speculation. The detection
limit has since goten down to 4PPb. When tested at this level they found
that a dozen wells down stream from Aerojet had some level of detection.
All of the wells were shut down at once.

The state set a reference dose at 4PPB, the detection limit. Based on
additional data it was later increased to 18 PPB. All of these wells
are still shut down at this point but it may become neccesary to use
those under 18PPB to get us through the long hot summer here. If that
comes to pass the water will be blended. I don't know anything about the
situation in La Puente, but I can tell you that Aerojet, the Air Force
and six water purveyors here have gone to great lengths to ensure that
no water will be sent to people's homes that has detectable perchlorate.

As an example, the Air Force is performing the first test on the effect
of the stuff. It will be at least six months to a year before anyone
really much more about the subject.

I had intended to bring this to your attention but the status changes so
fast that it is hard to keep up.

If anyone want more information, they can drop me a note.

Robert Coughran
Co-Chair Mather RAB