UCI Perchlorate Study

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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University of California Irvine
Press Release
June 11, 2004

UCI center finds perchlorate may be acceptable in drinking water at
levels higher that the current public health goal 

Report is given to health officials as they prepare to set statewide
standard 

Irvine, Calif. , June 8, 2004 

Even at significantly higher levels than recommended by the state's
leading health assessment agency, the contaminant perchlorate in
drinking water seems to pose no additional risks to healthy people,
according to a recent report issued by the UC Irvine Urban Water
Research Center.

The center reached this conclusion following a broad review of existing
research on the rocket fuel manufacturing byproduct. Produced by an
independent committee of scholars, the center's report is being provided
to the California Department of Health Services and other policymakers
as they wrestle with setting a statewide standard for perchlorate in
drinking water.

The committee viewed the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment's current public health goal of 6 parts per billion as well
reasoned and in keeping with a value set only on health considerations.
Its findings, however, show that exposure to perchlorate at levels below
100 parts per billion would still protect the public health.

Perchlorate ? a byproduct of rocket fuel manufacturing that was
discharged as waste into groundwater supplies from defense sites ? is a
chemical that interferes with the normal function of the thyroid gland.
In adults and children, the thyroid helps regulate metabolism. In
children, it also plays a major role in proper development. Impaired
thyroid function in expectant mothers may affect the fetus and newborn.
Treatment of rats with other chemicals that result in chronic lowering
of thyroid hormones has been shown to produce thyroid gland tumors.

"Clearly more research should be conducted related to exposure to
perchlorate, particularly with pregnant women and other susceptible
individuals," said committee member Ronald Shank, a UCI professor and
chair of community and environmental medicine. "But we found no evidence
in the current studies that demonstrate a difference in health effects
in healthy individuals between low levels of perchlorate, such as the 6
ppb public health goal, and a level 10 times higher."

Perchlorate has been found throughout California in approximately 350
wells in 89 water systems; 90 percent of these are located in Southern
California. Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernadino and Riverside counties
report 40 to 89 percent of the water systems tested contain perchlorate
levels greater than 6 ppb.

The URWC convened a committee of scholars in consultation with state
health officials, environmental health scientists, toxicologists,
engineers and economists to determine the nature and the effect of
different standard levels on human health, California's water supplies,
the types of treatment available, and the cost of compliance. The
committee's charge was to examine the information available on all
aspects of the contaminant and determine what is in the best interests
of the state, its people and its water supply.

According to Betty Olson, interim director of the UWRC, the processes
involved in standard setting are often difficult, requiring the weighing
of health concerns against cost of treatment and availability of water.

The UWRC committee looked at the same information that will be
considered by state health officials, but without the same legislative
constraints, including:

? Distribution and concentration of perchlorate in California's water
supplies ? Capacity to accurately, and at reasonable cost, measure
percholorate in drinking water ? Public health goal ? Cost, as known to
date, to treat contaminated supplies ? Contribution from food ? Benefit
of treating water to remove perchlorate achieved at different levels.

A copy of the UWRC report is available at www.urban-water.uci.edu/index.asp

The UWRC committee was comprised of Richard Bull, adjunct professor of
pharmacology/toxicology and environmental science at Washington State
University and former director of the U.S. EPA's Toxicology and
Microbiology Division; Andrew Chang, professor of agricultural
engineering and associate director of the UC Center for Water Resources
at UC Riverside; Carl Cranor, professor of philosophy, UC Riverside;
Ronald Shank, professor and chair of community and environmental
toxicology, UCI College of Medicine; and Rhodes Trussell, adjunct
professor of environmental health, science and policy at UCI and
president of Trussell Technologies.

The UCI Urban Water Research Center promotes increased understanding of
urban water issues in order to assist local, state and federal agencies
with their efforts to promote health, to enhance the efficient and fair
use of water resources and to protect the environment. The center
considers the entire urban water system, including water use, water
economics and the institutional systems.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of
California, Irvine is a top-ranked public university dedicated to
research, scholarship and community. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the
fastest-growing University of California campuses, with approximately
24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,300 faculty
members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI
contributes an annual economic impact of $3 billion.

For the original press release, go to
http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1168

 

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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