Pentagon Misses Toxic Report Deadline

[Snazzy]

Pentagon Misses Toxic Report Deadline

May 3, 6:51 PM (ET)

By ERICA WERNER

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon missed a deadline last week for sending Congress a report on contamination by a toxic chemical at defense sites nationwide. Perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel, has been found in drinking water supplies in 22 states where it was manufactured and handled. It has been linked to damage to the thyroid and may be especially harmful to infants.

The April 30 deadline for a report on the contaminant was contained in a military construction bill passed last year.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, senior Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee that handles military construction, complained to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the deadline being missed.

"I am troubled by the fact that the department has consistently avoided providing information to Congress about perchlorate contamination on Defense Department sites, and describing what, if anything, it has done to remediate the contamination," Feinstein wrote Rumsfeld in a letter released Monday.

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040503/D82BCPU00.html

[whistle]

1. It will be interesting to hear what Rumsfeld has to say in...

...response. Just so we know what perchlorate is, I'm posting this:

Perchlorate
Questions and Answers


What is perchlorate?
Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and manmade chemical. Naturally occurring perchlorate, for example, is found in nitrate fertilizer deposits from Chile. Most of the perchlorate manufactured in the United States is used as the primary ingredient of solid rocket propellant.

What are the effects of perchlorate on the human body?
At high doses, perchlorate can interfere with iodide uptake into the thyroid gland, disrupting its functions. In fact, perchlorate has been used as a drug to treat hyperthyroidism and to diagnose disorders related to thyroid or iodine metabolism. In adults, the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism. In children, the thyroid plays a major role in proper development in addition to metabolism. Impairment of thyroid function in expectant mothers may affect the fetus and newborn and result in effects including delayed development and decreased learning capability. Chronic lowering of thyroid hormones due to high perchlorate exposure may also result in thyroid gland tumors.

Has a safe level for perchlorate in water and food been established?
The EPA has recommended that its risk managers continue to use a previously established provisional RfD range of 7-35 µg/day for a 70 kg adult, with careful consideration of the lower end of that range. The federal government has not yet established a safe level for perchlorate in food and water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which regulates drinking water quality, has issued a draft reference dose (RfD) of 2.1 µg/day for a 70 kg adult as part of a draft perchlorate health risk assessment. The RfD is an estimate of the daily dose below which risks would be considered negligible for a lifetime exposure. A federal interagency working group has requested the National Academies of Science (NAS) to review the science underlying the reference dose and draft perchlorate health risk assessment. EPA will not finalize its draft health risk assessment nor establish the final RfD until after the NAS review, which should be completed by mid-2004. The NAS study will be a major factor in determining if some levels of perchlorate in food are a public health concern. More information on the EPA analysis and the health effects of perchlorate, and EPA's interim guidance can be found at:

http://www.epa.gov/swerffrr/documents/perchlorate_qa.htm and

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlorate/perchlo.html.