News Coverage
Perchlorate levels in area lettuce debated
Published December 1, 2004
A chemical used in rocket fuel is concentrating in lettuce irrigated with Colorado River water, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
But an Arizona researcher who's tested desert lettuce said human exposure to the contaminant is at a level well below what California and the federal government consider safe.
The FDA findings back up claims made last year in a report by the Environmental Working Group, an organization that bills itself as a watchdog of polluting industries.
The latest government findings were determined in August and reported online this week, according to the Environmental Working Group.
The government and private studies confirmed that a rocket fuel chemical called perchlorate concentrates in lettuce irrigated with contaminated water.
Much of the perchlorate in the Colorado River comes from a defunct defense factory near Henderson., Nev. A cleanup effort is under way.
But Charles Sanchez, a scientist at the University of Arizona's Yuma Research Center, tested lettuce from the Coachella and Imperial valleys and said the levels of perchlorate are relatively low.
"We would have to eat several servings of salad to get the same dose ... that is safe in California," Sanchez said of the state's proposed public health goal of 6 parts per billion of perchlorate in drinking water.
In 2003, Coachella Valley growers reported producing a lettuce crop worth $22.6 million, much of it irrigated with Colorado River water.