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Perchlorate Persists

New federal cleanup goals for getting the toxic chemical perchlorate out of drinking water fail to protect children’s health and can’t be supported by science, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) own scientific advisory panel.

The panel of 26 scientists found the EPA’s new target goal for perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel and ammunition, was four times lower than goals proposed by individual states and would put children at risk for impaired brain development, lower IQs and attention deficit problems.

The EPA based its goal of 24.5 parts per billion upon a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences. However, the EPA mistakenly assumed that exposure to perchlorate would come only from drinking water, failing to take into account the high levels of this chemical that have been found in milk, fruits and vegetables. Recently, perchlorate has also been discovered in prenatal vitamins and seaweed.

The EPA also erred, critics say, by basing its goal upon exposure levels for 155-pound adults, failing to take into account the greater vulnerabilities of children, infants and fetuses, who are far more susceptible to harm because of their lower body weights. Perchlorate harms children by reducing how much thyroid hormone they produce. The hormone is necessary to guide proper brain development.

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To learn more about EPA’s standards for perchlorate, visit the EPA site.

For more information on perchlorate in drinking water and lettuce, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org