News Coverage
Winter Lettuce May Come With Rocket Fuel
Published April 28, 2003
OAKLAND, California (ENS) - A new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) finds that lettuce grown in Southern California and Arizona in the fall and winter may contain levels of toxic rocket fuel in excess of what is considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In the report "Suspect Salads" EWG says that 18 percent of lettuce samples contained detectable levels of perchlorate, and an average serving of contaminated lettuce contained four times more perchlorate than the EPA says is safe in drinking water.
Perchlorate is the explosive component of rocket and missile fuel. Although there are currently no enforceable perchlorate safety standards, the EPA's currently recommended safe dose is equal to one part per billion (ppb) in drinking water.
EWG, a nonprofit environmental research firm, believes a national safety standard should be no higher than 0.1 ppb.
Based on its study, the organization estimates that that by eating lettuce, 1.6 million American women of childbearing age are exposed daily during the winter months to more perchlorate than the EPA's recommended safe dose.
The tests are the first ever of perchlorate in supermarket produce, according to EWG, but they confirm previous research on greenhouse grown lettuce seedlings and field-grown lettuce, kale and spinach.
It is estimated that perchlorate contaminates more than 500 drinking water sources in 20 states, serving well over 20 million people. This includes the Colorado River, a major source of drinking water for many in the Western U.S. and a key irrigation source - 70 percent of the nation's lettuce grown from October to March relies on water from the Colorado.
Of the 15 leading lettuce growing counties in the U.S., according to EWG, 10 have known or suspected sources of perchlorate pollution.
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, introduced a bill in March to unearth the extent of perchlorate contamination. In a letter sent Monday to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Boxer cited EWG's study and urged the agency to investigate perchlorate contamination in food.
"The federal government is already woefully behind in addressing perchlorate contamination in drinking water," Boxer wrote. "This delay is unacceptable. We cannot exacerbate the problem by ignoring the possible contamination of our food."