Originally published February 28 2005
EPA revises guidelines on perchlorate in drinking water; says it's safe to drink rocket fuel
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average adult can tolerate up to 24.5 parts of the toxic chemical perchlorate per each 1 billion parts water -- 25 times more than was previously thought safe, according to new guidelines. These are the first guidelines the EPA has issued on perchlorate, which is in rocket fuel and heavy industry and has been found in drinking water, milk and lettuce.
Adults can tolerate nearly 25 times more of the potentially toxic chemical perchlorate in their drinking water than previously thought, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday.
The announcement marks the first time the EPA has issued an official guideline on how much perchlorate humans can safely ingest.
Environmental groups have been pushing for such guidelines since 1997, when the chemical -- commonly used in rocket fuels and explosives -- was found to contaminate water sources nationwide.
More recently, perchlorate has been detected in the majority of the nation's milk and lettuce supply.
Based on the assumption that a 70-kilogram (154-pound) adult drinks 2 liters of water each day, the EPA estimates that 24.5 parts of perchlorate to 1 billion parts of water is a safe limit for water quality.
The figures are based on a report by the National Academy of Sciences, which examined several studies on the effects of perchlorate in humans and rats.
The EPA said it will use the first figure -- 0.7 micrograms per kilogram per day -- to help determine the level of cleanup necessary at contaminated Superfund sites.
The second figure -- 24.5 parts per billion -- will be used to guide further discussions about an official standard for water quality.
This worries many environmental groups that have been pushing for a standard as low as 1 ppb, which they say would protect those who are most likely to be affected by perchlorate.
The aerospace and defense industries argue that an unnecessarily low limit could cost them billions of dollars in excess cleanup costs.
Most of the perchlorate contamination in the United States has come from leaks or dumps at aerospace and defense sites, according to the National Academy of Sciences.
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