[CPEO-MEF] EPA Issues Perchlorate Guidance

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

EPA Issues Guidance for Protective Cleanups of Perchlorate

Release date:01/26/2006


Contact: Kerry Humphrey, 202-564-4355 / humphrey.kerry@epa.gov

(1/26/06) EPA issued new protective guidance for cleaning up perchlorate 
contamination today recommending a preliminary clean-up goal for 
perchlorate of 24.5 parts per billion in water. EPA's guidance is 
derived from the agency's reference dose for perchlorate which is based 
on the 2005 recommendations and conclusions of the nation's foremost 
science advisory committee (National Academy of Sciences).

This preliminary goal is a starting point for an evaluation of 
site-specific conditions. Consistent with current practice, final 
clean-up determinations should take site-specific information into 
consideration. Today's action offers clear guidance to site managers to 
help ensure national consistency in evaluating perchlorate in light of 
widely varying state guidance. This decision was based on the best 
available science and will be updated as new information becomes available.

Perchlorate has been detected in groundwater or drinking water at 
approximately 45 of the 1,500 sites on the Agency's National Priorities 
List. Perchlorate salts were first produced in the United States in the 
mid-1940s, primarily for use by the United States military for 
explosives and rocket propellants. Perchlorate salts also have been used 
in other applications, including pyrotechnics and fireworks, blasting 
agents, matches, lubricating oils, air bags and certain types of 
fertilizers.

To read the guidance document, visit: 
http://epa.gov/newsroom/perchlorate.pdf (3 pp., 443KB PDF file)

***

For the original press release, see
ttp://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/8b32b843b17f37d88525701800558fac/1e56c8361918f6f285257102006ce95e!OpenDocument

--
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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