News Coverage
Feinstein demands Defense Department clean up water pollutant
Published April 2, 2003
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California on Tuesday accused the Defense Department of dragging its feet in the cleanup of rocket fuel from old military facilities, which state officials say has contaminated hundreds of wells in California.
Feinstein told military officials that the Defense Department may be responsible for some pollutants in the lower Colorado River - a major source of drinking water for San Diego - and hundreds of ground-water wells in the state.
Specifically, the San Francisco Democrat urged the Defense officials to take steps to clean up waterways and wells contaminated by perchlorate, a primary ingredient in many rocket propellants, munitions and explosives.
During an appropriations subcommittee hearing, a top Pentagon official, Raymond F. Dubois, said the military is evaluating the contamination issue. Dubois, a deputy under secretary of defense, said researchers are trying to determine drinking water standards for perchlorate.
"It's very complex science," Dubois said.
Several years ago, state officials determined that the lower Colorado River is polluted with small amounts of perchlorate, presumably due to runoff from a Cold War rocket fuel factory in Henderson, Nev. About 15 million people in Southern California depend on drinking water from the Colorado River.
Although officials emphasize that no one is in danger from drinking tap water, the Environmental Protection Agency last year released a draft report that suggested the risk from exposure to perchlorate in drinking water may be greater than previously thought.
Scientific studies show that high levels of perchlorate can impair thyroid functions and could affect the physical and mental development of children. Feinstein said she wants the Defense Department to take responsibility for the pollutants, which have been found in rivers and wells in least 22 states.
"To the best of our knowledge, nearly all perchlorate has been produced by the Department of Defense and its contractors and in the country's space programs," Feinstein said.
"Unless the federal government takes positive action, we will be sticking many small communities with a huge problem that they did not create," she said. "That is unacceptable."