[CPEO-MEF] Unzip Pentagon's lips on chemical

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Unzip Pentagon's lips on chemical
EDITORIAL
June 2, 2003

The American public doesn't expect much transparency from the Department
of Defense when it comes to such things as revealing troop deployments
that could endanger soldiers' lives. However, Americans have every right
to expect that the agency will be frank on environmental hazards on
American soil.

That has not been the case with perchlorate, a key ingredient of solid
rocket fuel that's seeping into the water we drink and creeping into the
produce we eat. Perchlorate is one of the more dangerous chemicals most
of us have never heard of; it's known to disrupt normal thyroid
functioning and can cause mental retardation in the unborn.

DOD has long been aware of the dangers of perchlorate; it has been in
use since the 1950s. Two years ago, officials agreed to conduct a
comprehensive survey of military installations around the country where
contamination of groundwater was suspected. When the survey was
completed, the military was supposed to share its results with the
Environmental Protection Agency in order to set precise national
standards for unsafe levels of the chemical in groundwater and drinking
water. But that hasn't happened.

This editorial can be viewed at:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0603/03chemical.html

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