[CPEO-MEF] Senators turn up heat on river chemical leak

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Monday, May 5, 2003
Senators turn up heat on river chemical leak
Officials want info from EPA on lettuce contamination
By Doug Abrahms
Californian Capitol Bureau

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WASHINGTON -- California's senators are pushing the Bush administration
to provide more information about perchlorate and help clean up the
toxic chemical that has leaked into the Colorado River, contaminating
lettuce samples in northern California.
"This week's revelations have suggested that the situation could be even
worse than previously thought, as perchlorate may have been absorbed
into produce that was irrigated with perchlorate-contaminated water,"
wrote Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and two other Democratic senators.

Boxer, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid sent
the letter Thursday to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency,
demanding the agency provide more information about the health risks of
perchlorate, a chemical found in rocket fuel.

Most contaminated sites lie near military bases or defense-contracting
facilities that made rocket fuel or explosives.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.californianonline.com/news/stories/20030505/localnews/244025.html

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