EPA Unlikely To Set A Limit On Perchlorate Content In Tap Water

September 22, 2008 7:48 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Environmental Protection Agency is unlikely to set higher drinking water safety benchmark for perchlorate due to pressures from the White House and Pentagon. Perchlorate is a component of rocket fuel found in tap water in at least 25 states and linked to thyroid problems in infants, young children and pregnant women.

The Washington Post cited documents from EPA's preliminary investigation, expected to end the six-year long battle between EPA scientists who are for regulation of the chemical and White House and Pentagon officials who are against regulation.

Estimates of number of Americans exposed to the substance range from 16.6 to 40 million. Perchlorate occurs naturally, but in most instances contamination is due to improper disposal in rocket test sites, military bases and chemical plants. Clean-up is expected to run into billions of dollars, prompting several defense contractors to threaten to file a lawsuit against the Defense Department to help pay for a national clean-up if it would be required.

The suggested EPA standard was the result of heavy editing by White House Office of Management and Budget, which increased the maximum allowable perchlorate contamination level 15 times higher than EPA's original benchmark set in 2002, reported the Washington Post.

Robert Zoeller, a University of Massachusetts professor specializing in thyroid hormone and brain development, warned, quoted by the Washington Post, "They have distorted the science to such an extent that they can justify not regulating... Infants and children will continue to be damaged, and that damage is significant."

Zoeller cited scientific studies which said a small reduction in thyroid function in newborns can lead to a loss of intelligence quotient and an increase in behavioral and perception problems. He added the impact often lasts through high school and in their 20s.

The EPA is supposed to release its final ruling Dec. 1. Benjamin Grumbles, EPA assistant administrator for water, insisted in a statement, "Science, not the politics of fear in an election year, will drive our final decision." He stressed perchlorate in drinking water carries with it some degree of risk, and the EPA is committed to work with states and scientists to ensure adequate protection for public health.