[CPEO-MEF] Another toxin found at Lake City cleanup site

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Kansas
Posted on Tue, Jan. 28, 2003
Another toxin found at Lake City cleanup site
By JOE ROBERTSON
The Kansas City Star

Just when you think the protectors of area water supplies would know if
it's safe to take a drink, along comes a new threat.

This time it's perchlorate.

The chemical has been around for decades. Manufacturers use it to ignite
the explosions in missiles and rockets. It triggers many ammunition
rounds. It also shows up naturally in fertilizer imported from Chile.

But until recently, no one thought to look for it at the Lake City Army
Ammunition Plant in eastern Jackson County. No one thought it would show
up in occasional agricultural wells across Iowa and Nebraska.

No one knew to care.

"We knew perchlorate was in the environment, but we had no idea what
that meant," said Kevin Mayer, the Environmental Protection Agency's
perchlorate coordinator for the Pacific Southwest region. "It wasn't on
people's radar screens."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/5044869.htm

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