December 15th, 2004

"Toxic perchlorate found in 4% of water supplies presenting possible risk to newborns and fetuses"

Perchlorate has been found in an estimated four percent of U.S. water systems as of 2003, creating a major controversy over what should be done. Though perchlorate occurs naturally, the majority of the drinking water contamination has been linked to rocket test sites, military bases and perchlorate production plants, where the chemical was improperly disposed of, causing the toxin to leak into the ground.

Perchlorate is a primary ingredient in rocket fuel and fireworks, but the toxic chemical has been found in the water supply of at least 20 states. The six-year controversy has been to determine what level of the pollutant is considered too much risk. The Pentagon, Energy Department, NASA and defense industry contractors have been unable to resolve the disagreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), so the two sides have turned the matter over to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

Since the 1950s, scientists have known about the dangerous effects of perchlorate on the human body. If the toxin is ingested in high amounts, the perchlorate blocks iodide uptake into the thyroid gland, which aids the development of fetuses, newborns and children. Scientists did not discover how to detect perchlorate at low levels in water until 1997.

After a serious evaluation of perchlorate in drinking water, the EPA finished its initial risk assessment in 2002, setting off a demand for a reevaluation. The EPA had recommended a reference dose of one part per billion, but the Pentagon & Co. complained it was too low.

The NAS is now reviewing the EPA''s assessment, which could potentially result in hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs, as well as create difficulties for the Defense Dept. and for the water remediation companies that can handle perchlorate. Even though the NAS findings are not legally binding, BusinessWeekOnline learned from two sources close to the study that the NAS will recommend a specific reference dose when it releases its findings in the beginning of January 2005, in an uncharacteristic move.

Nobody wants to be held liable when there is a mandate, and a specific recommendation by the NAS for perchlorate levels considered acceptable in water supplies could mean a larger cleanup fund from companies. Lockheed has so far listed $180 million as a liability for the future cleanup of a former test site in Redlands, CA, Kerr McGee has added $32 million to its reserves for a cleanup in Nevada and AeroJet says it has spent between $35 and $40 million removing perchlorate at its Rancho Cordova, CA site.

According to Siemen''s owned USFilter and Calgon Carbon, two filtration companies, the rate to clean the equivalent of one family''s yearly supply of water is roughly $50 to $75. Perchlorate is currently unregulated on the state and national level. Drinking water contamination standards could change even more if perchlorate standards of the toxin in drinking water set off a chain reaction. Significant levels of arsenic above the EPA''s protective level are estimated to be in 5.3 percent of groundwater systems, and elevated levels of lead are estimated to be in roughly three percent of water systems that serve over 3,300 people each.