[CPEO-MEF] Health threat of rocket fuel debated

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

The following is a reprint of a New York Times article.
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SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Health threat of rocket fuel debated
EPA says levels are dangerous and the Pentagon disagrees
By Jennifer 8. Lee
Wednesday, October 29, 2003

WASHINGTON -- Government scientists, speaking before a review panel,
have presented sharply discordant views of the health threats posed by a
chemical ingredient widely used in rocket fuel.

The ingredient, ammonium perchlorate, can leach into the water supply
and has caused concern in Western states such as California.

Experts from the Environmental Protection Agency told the panel,
convened by the National Academy of Sciences, that the levels of
perchlorate allowed under current safety guidelines could cause thyroid
problems in people, particularly in fetuses. They argued that safety
levels for the chemical should be set at concentrations more than a
hundred times lower than those being advocated by the Department of
Defense.

Scientists from the Defense Department, NASA and the military industry
countered that the environmental agency's analysis was flawed and overly
cautious.

"Excess precaution for its own sake will have serious adverse effects on
the national security mission of the Department of Defense," said Col.
Dan Rogers, the chief of the environmental law and litigation division
at the Pentagon.

This article can be viewed at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/145886_rocket29.html

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