[CPEO-MEF] CA Perchlorate Bills

[steve@miltoxproj.org]

California governor signs two bills targeting pollution from Cold War rockets



Tuesday, September 30, 2003
By Associated Press



RIALTO, Calif. - California's governor signed into law Monday two bills that would make it easier to track pollution from a toxic chemical that was used to fuel Cold War-era missiles.

Perchlorate, which has been found in water supplies in at least 22 states, has been linked to thyroid damage, though it is unclear what constitutes a dangerous level of the pollutant.

Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that requires users of perchlorate during the past 53 years to report its use, storage, or leaks. The measure also gives water boards the authority to require owners of perchlorate facilities to provide clean drinking water when contamination is found.

The governor also signed a bill to establish a statewide database to track contamination. It requires owners of perchlorate facilities within eight kilometers (five miles) of any public wells contaminated by the chemical to disclose cleanup work.

Perchlorate has forced the shutdown of hundreds of wells in California and has been found in much of the lower Colorado River - the main water source for 20 million people across the southwestern United States.




Source: Associated Press

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