Perchlorate, Pregnancy, and Politics

  • Perchlorate is a chemical in rocket fuel that has been found in some drinking water supplies. It’s been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and babies. (Photo courtesy of the CDC)

Critics of the Environmental Protection
Agency say the agency is putting pregnant women
and children at risk. Rebecca Williams reports
the controversy centers on a chemical that’s found
in some drinking water supplies:

Transcript

Critics of the Environmental Protection
Agency say the agency is putting pregnant women
and children at risk. Rebecca Williams reports
the controversy centers on a chemical that’s found
in some drinking water supplies:

Perchlorate is a chemical in rocket fuel. It’s been linked to thyroid problems in
pregnant women and babies. It’s been found in milk, and lettuce and water
supplies from coast to coast.

But the Environmental Protection Agency has not set a safety standard for the
chemical in drinking water. Recently, a draft document obtained by the press
stated that EPA does not intend to set that standard.

The Washington Post reported that White House officials edited the EPA
document. And took out references to some studies that linked perchlorate to
thyroid problems.

Senator Barbara Boxer is a Democrat from California. She says she’s troubled
by this news.

“To me it’s just an immoral decision that EPA has made not to set forth a
standard for perchlorate. Perchlorate interferes with production of hormones
that are needed for development of the brain and the nervous system. This is
really a dangerous, dangerous chemical.”

Boxer endorsed a bill that would force EPA to set a standard.

The EPA says, ‘whoa, hang on a minute, this is just a draft.’

In a statement sent to The Environment Report, EPA assistant administrator
Benjamin Grumbles says quote.

“We know perchlorate in drinking water presents some degree of risk and
we’re committed to working with states and scientists to ensure public health is
protected.”

Grumbles says the agency will release its draft decision soon. That version will
be open to public comment.

But some critics say politics is shaping this entire decision.

Perchlorate has been used for decades by the defense industry. The chemical’s
used for making and firing rockets and missiles.

John Stephenson is with the Government Accountability Office. It’s the federal
agency that acts as a watchdog.

“Setting a standard is important because, in the Department of Defense’s case,
they don’t clean up anything for which there is no standard.”

Stephenson says his watchdog agency is bothered by some recent changes at
the EPA. This spring, the EPA changed its chemical review process. It’s used
to decide how dangerous a given chemical might be.

Stephenson says now, the Department of Defense and the White House can
keep their comments private.

“And EPA can receive comments behind closed doors in what amounts to a
black box. So let’s say the Department of Defense offers up some new
research on perchlorate that they think is compelling reason why the standards
should be set or shouldn’t be set at a certain level but nobody else in the
scientific community can see what this is until the end of the process.”

Stephenson says he’s lost confidence in the EPA to change this.

The GAO is urging Congress to step in and bring more light to the process
that’s supposed to keep the public safe.

For The Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.

Related Links

Cold War Toxin in Drinking Water?

A toxic leftover from the Cold War is polluting soil and water at sites across the country. More than two dozen sites in the Great Lakes region could be contaminated by a chemical used in rocket fuel. The chemical was either used or stored at the sites. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports: