[CPEO-MEF] Defense Department, California Agree on Perchlorate Sampling

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release No. 979-04 
IMMEDIATE RELEASE  October 1, 2004 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DoD, California Perchlorate Sampling Prioritization Protocol Reached 

The Department of Defense announced today that it and the California
Environmental Protection Agency (CAL-EPA) have finalized a procedure for
prioritizing perchlorate-sampling efforts at DoD facilities throughout
California. 

The procedure document provides guidance to California and DoD officials
on the steps each party will take to identify and prioritize areas on
military sites where perchlorate has likely been released in proximity
to drinking water sources. The DoD/California-developed agreement is the
first of its kind in the country.

?This protocol is a crucial step forward to address perchlorate concerns
in California and will serve as a model for interagency partnering with
other states,? said Alex Beehler, assistant deputy under secretary of
defense for environment, safety, and occupational health.

CAL-EPA head Terry Tamminen said, ?Our cooperative implementation of the
protocol will provide us the much needed information to better
understand the scope and magnitude of the impact to our drinking water
sources.? 

As a first step, the protocol will allow California to assist DoD in
prioritizing the investigation of suspected sites and will focus
resources on the sites that may have the greatest impact to the public.
If perchlorate releases are discovered, DoD intends to fully
characterize and respond to the problems under its existing
environmental response programs.

Currently, no drinking water standard for perchlorate has been adopted.
California recently set a public health goal of 6 parts per billion and
that state?s department of health services has begun efforts to adopt a
maximum contaminant limit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is
working with California on monitoring perchlorate occurrence in public
water systems.

The new protocol addresses active and closed installations,
non-operational ranges, and formerly used Defense sites where funding
has not already been allocated to address perchlorate. Any known
perchlorate releases at a DoD site within one mile of a drinking water
source where perchlorate has been detected will warrant the highest
priority for sampling. It allows DoD to focus resources on the sites
posing the most immediate threats to California?s drinking water
supplies. The protocol will not affect any ongoing environmental
restoration activities that DoD is already conducting to address perchlorate.

?The Department of Defense remains committed to working with the State
of California to set priorities, to identify and address perchlorate
problems on military facilities, and to marshal resources for
researching effective treatment technologies,? Beehler said.

Perchlorate is a chemical that has been used in various items, including
missile and rocket propellants, munitions, fireworks, flares,
fertilizer, automobile airbags, and pharmaceuticals. It may also occur
naturally. It has important applications for national defense and space exploration.


for the original, see
http://www.dod.mil/releases/2004/nr20041001-1343.html 


-- 


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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