[CPEO-MEF] Draft California MCL for perchlorate

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Oct. 29, 2004

CONTACT: Bill Walker or Renee Sharp, EWG, (510) 444-0973

CALIFORNIA PUBLISHES DRAFT SAFETY STANDARD FOR PERCHLORATE IN DRINKING WATER

OAKLAND, Oct. 29 – The California Department of Health Services has 
published a draft safety standard for perchlorate in drinking water of 6 
parts per billion, according to a notice posted on the agency's website 
Thursday:

http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/ddwem/chemicals/perchl/perchlorateMCL.htm

The notice moves the state one step closer to adopting an enforceable 
Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for perchlorate in drinking water. The 
draft standard will next be released for a 45-day public comment period. 
During that time DHS will evaluate both the technical and economic 
feasibility of the proposed MCL.

Perchlorate, the main ingredient in solid rocket fuel, is a toxin that 
can disrupt normal functioning of the thyroid gland. Because the thyroid 
controls growth and development, perchlorate poses the highest risk to 
pregnant or nursing mothers, their fetuses and developing infants.

The proposed standard would make California the second state to adopt a 
perchlorate limit of just a few parts per billion. Massachusetts has set 
a standard of 1 ppb. That is the same level determined by the U.S. EPA's 
preliminary risk assessment, currently under review by the National 
Academy of Sciences. The Pentagon and defense contractors, whose 
facilities are the source of most perchlorate pollution, argue that 
levels of up to 200 ppb are safe.

According to data analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, 
perchlorate contaminates more than 350 drinking water sources in 
California alone. Nationally, perchlorate contamination of drinking 
water has been confirmed by testing in 22 states. Among contaminated 
sources is the Colorado River, which not only provides drinking water 
for Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas and other cities, but also irrigates 
1.4 million acres of farmland in California and Arizona. Tests by EWG, 
leading universities, the State of California and the Food and Drug 
Administration have found perchlorate in many crop and feed plants, 
cow's milk and human breast milk.

"We share the concerns of Massachusetts health officials that 
California's proposed perchlorate standard may leave some sensitive 
populations at risk," said EWG Analyst Renee Sharp. "But the difference 
between the two state standards is small compared to the scientifically 
unsupported levels pushed by the Department of Defense and military 
contractors."

EWG's perchlorate studies are available at:

http://www.ewg.org/issues/perchlorate/index.php
--
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
http://www.cpeo.org


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