[CPEO-MEF] NAS Perchlorate report news stories

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Panel: EPA hasn't justified need for perchlorate limit

By Peter Eisler
USA TODAY
January 11, 2005

WASHINGTON ? A National Academy of Sciences panel says the Environmental
Protection Agency hasn't justified the need for a virtual no-tolerance
limit on pollution from perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel and
military munitions that has fouled drinking water supplies nationwide.

The panel's review aims to settle a high-stakes EPA dispute with the
military and aerospace communities, which could face billions of dollars
in cleanup costs if the agency strictly limits perchlorate pollution.

The Pentagon pushed for the Academy review after an EPA study concluded
that perchlorate levels in drinking water should be limited to 1 part
per billion to ensure public safety. There currently is no federal limit
on perchlorate pollution, though a few states are moving to set limits
of less than 10 ppb in drinking water.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-10-percholate-epa_x.htm



Science Panel Issues Report on Exposure to Pollutant

By FELICITY BARRINGER 
New York Times
January 11, 2005

ASHINGTON, Jan. 10 - In an eagerly awaited report on perchlorate, one of
the most controversial unregulated toxic pollutants in the country's
drinking water and food supplies, the National Academy of Sciences said
Monday that people would be safe if exposed to daily doses 20 times
those under consideration by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Depending on how federal and state regulators interpret the academy's
recommendation, the Defense Department, its contractors and other
federal agencies responsible for contamination from perchlorate, a
component of solid rocket fuel, could avoid cleanup costs of hundreds of
millions of dollars. 

The environmental agency and the states of California and Massachusetts
have already taken the initial steps in the regulatory process, with the
E.P.A. and Massachusetts both suggesting a maximum safe level of one
part per billion, and California setting a goal of six parts per
billion. Thus far, no regulation on the maximum safe level of
perchlorate in drinking water has been made final. 

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/politics/11report.html



Health Standard for Perchlorate too High

ERICA WERNER
Associated Press (Kansas City Star)
Posted on January 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - A panel of scientists concluded Monday that perchlorate, a
toxic chemical used in rocket fuel and explosives, is safe for
consumption at levels 20 times greater than the standard being
considered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In a report expected to influence a final EPA regulation on the
chemical, the National Academy of Sciences supported a level of
contamination closer to that favored by the Pentagon, and not the more
stringent rules sought by environmentalists and some Democrats.

The study comes after years of disagreement over how dangerous it is for
people to consume water tainted with perchlorate, a pervasive leftover
of Cold War defense manufacturing that has been found in drinking water
in 35 states.

..

For the entire article, see
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10612044.htm


U.S. tried to suppress pollutant study, group says

By Maggie Fox
Reuters
January 10, 2005

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A new report from the National Academy of
Sciences raises by 20 times the amount of rocket fuel pollution in
drinking water considered "safe," but environmentalists on Monday
accused the government of influencing the report's findings.

The environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council challenged the
report even before it was issued, saying the authors had been influenced
by the Pentagon and defense contractors and it had evidence to prove it.

The pollutant from rocket fuel, a chemical called perchlorate, can
affect thyroid function. There are no federal limits on how much is safe
but independent groups have said the chemical could affect developing babies.

The Academy's National Research Council, which advises the government on
scientific and environmental matters, was asked by the Department of
Defense, NASA and other agencies to review evidence that perchlorate in
drinking water or food crops was harmful and if so, how much was safe.

..

For the entire article, see
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10221751.htm


Panel Says Perchlorate Is Safer Than Previously Advised by EPA

By PETER WALDMAN 
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 10, 2005

A panel of the National Academy of Sciences said people can safely
consume more perchlorate than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has advised, yet much less of the chemical than advocated by the U.S.
Department of Defense. 

The two federal agencies have sparred for several years over the
potential health dangers of perchlorate , the main ingredient in solid
rocket fuel that the Pentagon and defense contractors have discharged
into water supplies in 35 states.

In a 192-page report issued Monday, the National Academies' National
Research Council said people of all ages could safely drink roughly 20
parts per billion of perchlorate in drinking water.

...

The entire article is available only to paid subscribers at http://www.wsj.com


-- 


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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