News Coverage
Lab Tests Show Traces of Rocket Fuel in Lettuce
Published April 28, 2003
WASHINGTON - Lettuce grown in the fall and winter months in Southern California or Arizona may contain higher levels of a substance used in rocket fuel than is considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, a public interest organization. In the unprecedented tests of supermarket produce, 18% of lettuce samples contained detectable levels of perchlorate, and an average serving of the contaminated samples contained four times more than the EPA says is safe in drinking water. According to EWG, perchlorate contaminates the Colorado River, which provides drinking water for Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas and other cities, and also irrigates 70% of the nation's lettuce grown from October to March in those regions.