One California city is taking no chances on a toxic rocket fuel in its drinking water. Although neither the EPA nor the state has made a final decision on safe levels of perchlorate, the Associated Press reports that Rialto, a working-class Los Angeles suburb, is taking a zero-tolerance stance and shutting down all wells that have tested positive for the chemical.

The NPRA's propaganda about our report is painstakingly crafted to confuse the issues, but it makes one thing perfectly clear: The oil industry is desperate to get the accountability shield, and scared of the facts that have already forced them to pay more than $250 million to two California communities whose drinking water was contaminated by MTBE.

California will keep its recommendation for the legal limit of the toxic rocket fuel chemical perchlorate in drinking water at 6 parts per billion (ppb), despite EPA levels set over four times higher, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. California’s level takes into account rocket fuel exposure from multiple sources, including milk, lettuce and other foods. It was adjusted to protect the most sensitive populations, including pregnant mothers, infants and children.

With the Bush administration dragging its heels on limiting mercury emissions from power plants, concerned New Hampshire citizens are calling for legislation independent of federal regulations, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports. A new bill in the state Senate requires an 80 percent reduction in mercury emissions in eight years, as well as a cap on carbon dioxide.

According to news reports, Teflon maker DuPont reported earning $331 million in the third quarter this year. That amount will just cover the possible $313 million fine it faces for illegally hiding from the EPA studies finding that their Teflon chemical moves from mother's blood to baby and that it had polluted drinking water supplies used by thousands of Ohioans and West Virginians.

The Baltimore Sun recently reported the toxic gasoline additive MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) has been found leaking into drinking water in nearby county wells, adding Harford County's Fallston area to the growing list of communities whose water supplies have been polluted by MTBE. More than 20 families are suing Exxon Mobil Corp. over the foul-smelling toxin which leaked into wells serving 84 homes, allegedly from an underground storage tank at a nearby Exxon station.

A new study by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) found that a large percentage of people who had their blood and urine tested carried pesticides above levels considered safe by government health and environmental agencies.

Dozens of provisions in the GOP energy bill agreement pending in Congress make it a historic threat to the environment, according to Environmental Working Group (EWG) President Ken Cook.

Lettuce grown in the fall and winter months in Southern California or Arizona may contain higher levels of toxic rocket fuel than is considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG).