Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water

New data show widespread nationwide contamination

Drinking water for more than 20 million Americans is contaminated with a toxic legacy of the Cold War: A chemical that interferes with normal thyroid function, may cause cancer and persists indefinitely in the environment, but is currently unregulated by state or federal authorities. Perchlorate, the explosive main ingredient of rocket and missile fuel, contaminates drinking water supplies, groundwater or soil in hundreds of locations in at least 43 states, according to Environmental Working Group’s updated analysis of government data. EWG’s analysis of the latest scientific studies, which show harmful health effects from minute doses, argues that a national standard for perchlorate in drinking water should be no higher than one-tenth the level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currrently recommends as safe.

Perchlorate Pollution Spreading Nationwide

Drinking water for more than 20 million Americans is contaminated with a toxic legacy of the Cold War: A chemical that interferes with normal thyroid function, may cause cancer and persists indefinitely in the environment, but is currently unregulated by state or federal authorities.

Perchlorate, the explosive main ingredient of rocket and missile fuel, contaminates drinking water supplies, groundwater or soil in hundreds of locations in at least 43 states, according to Environmental Working Group’s updated analysis of government data. EWG’s analysis of the latest scientific studies, which show harmful health effects from minute doses, argues that a national standard for perchlorate in drinking water should be no higher than one-tenth the level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currrently recommends as safe.

Perchlorate is a powerful thyroid toxin that can affect the thyroid’s ability to take up the essential nutrient iodide and make thyroid hormones. Small disruptions in thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy can cause lowered IQ and larger disruptions cause mental retardation, loss of hearing and speech, or deficits in motor skills for infants and children.

In California, Arizona and Nevada, where testing has been most extensive, well over 20 million people drink water from public and private sources known to be polluted with perchlorate. This estimate includes millions of customers of 81 contaminated public water systems in California and aproximately 20 million customers in the three states who get at least part of their drinking water from the perchlorate-tainted Colorado River. (Because there is some overlap between systems that are supplied by groundwater sources and those supplied by the Colorado River, a total cannot be calculated by adding the two figures.)

Link: Perchlorate-contaminated drinking water sources in California.

Link: More than 20 million people in California, Arizona and Nevada get at least part of their drinking water from the perchlorate-contaminated Colorado River.

On March 3, 2003, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, introduced legislation that would mandate that the federal government set a drinking water standard for perchlorate by July 1, 2004. California health officials are working toward setting a state drinking water standard sometime in 2004, but the EPA is not expected to set enforceable national standards before 2008, if then.

California’s current provisional drinking water standard, which is only advisory, is 2 to 6 parts per billion (ppb). The EPA’s current draft standard is equivalent to 1 ppb. Boxer’s legislation does not specify what the standard should be but mandates that it be set at a level that will protect the most sensitive populations. EWG’s analysis of new studies, showing harmful effects from very low doses, argues that to protect children the standard should be no higher than one-tenth the EPA’s recommendation, or 0.1 ppb.

Link: New Studies Show Harm From Much Lower Doses of Perchlorate.

EWG’s analysis of the latest federal and state data shows:

Perchlorate is used in fireworks, safety flares, matches and car air bags, but 90 percent of it goes into solid rocket fuel for military missiles and the NASA space shuttle. American Pacific Corp. of Las Vegas and Kerr-McGee Corp. of Oklahoma City were the sole U.S. producers until 1998, when American Pacific bought out its rival.

National data is still spotty, but extensive drinking water testing is now taking place under the federal Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, which requires testing by all large water systems and some smaller ones. As the data comes in, perchlorate contamination is being found in many places where there was no record of the chemical’s use.

Once thought to affect only Air Force facilities and contractors, more recently perchlorate contamination has been found in tests at many Army and Navy sites as well, especially where munitions have been disposed of by open burning or detonation. Among known contaminated sites is the McGregor Naval Weapons Plant in central Texas, just a few miles from President Bush’s ranch. Underground plumes of perchlorate have also been found spreading from non-military industrial sites, such as an abandoned flare factory in San Martin, Calif., formerly operated by Olin Corp. of Norwalk, Conn., that has polluted more than 100 private wells.

Although the majority of known and suspected perchlorate-contaminated sites are operated by the military or contractors such as St. Louis-based Lockheed Martin, the Department of Defense and the aerospace and defense industry are stubbornly resisting the efforts of regulators to set adequate safety standards or clean up contaminated sites.

Despite volumes of new evidence showing that very low doses are harmful to fetuses, infants and children, the Pentagon and its contractors argue that the risks of perchlorate should be assessed on the basis of a single study, funded by the defense industry, on short-term exposure of a handful of adult men and non-pregnant women. Last year, Kerr-McGee and Lockheed Martin successfully sued California health authorities to reconsider the state’s provisional drinking water standard, which likely will force the state to miss a January 2004 deadline, mandated by state law, for setting an enforceable standard.

Both the Defense Department and Lockheed Martin, which is being sued by 800 residents of San Bernardino, Calif., for cancer and other illnesses they believe were caused by decades of drinking perchlorate-contaminated water, maintain that perchlorate is safe at levels 200 times higher than the EPA’s current recommendation. In fact, there is strong evidence that the EPA’s recommended level of 1 ppb is far too high.

Neither the EPA nor the state of California have taken into account the numerous common anti-thyroid chemicals which may worsen the effects of perchlorate, notably the drinking water contaminant nitrate. Neither the EPA nor California have taken note of epidemiological studies that found effects on infant thyroid hormone levels at 1 to 6 ppb.

And neither the EPA nor California have adequately considered the extra perchlorate that may be consumed by eating lettuce or other produce grown with contaminated water. Documents obtained and published by EWG in December 2002 showed that a 1997 study in San Bernardino, Calif., of leafy vegetables growing in perchlorate-contaminated water found that the crops took up and stored perchlorate and concentrated it by an average factor of 65. This high rate of bioaccumulation means that a pregnant woman who ate a two-ounce serving of the vegetables would get a dose of perchlorate more than 100 times higher than what the EPA recommends as safe in a liter of drinking water.

Link: High Levels of Toxic Rocket Fuel Found in Lettuce.

Known Health Effects

Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water: New Studies Show Harm From Much Lower Doses

Perchlorate was first discovered to affect the thyroid 50 years ago, but only recently has research focused on its effects at low levels. The trend in the findings is both clear and ominous: The more scientists look, the lower they find the threshold for adverse effects.

Perchlorate’s main effect is on the thyroid gland, which is responsible for controlling growth, development and metabolism. Perchlorate inhibits the thyroid’s ability to take up iodide, a necessary nutrient, which is important in the production of thyroid hormones. An underactive thyroid gland in adults can lead to fatigue, depression, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hair loss, and low libido.

More serious, however, are the effects of thyroid hormone disruption in the developing fetus and child: Small changes in maternal thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy have been associated with reduced IQs in children. Fetuses, infants and children who experience more significant changes in hormone levels may suffer mental retardation, loss of hearing and speech, abnormal testicular development or deficits in motor skills. In older children, depressed thyroid levels have been associated with lower motivation to learn and attention deficit disorder. (Haddow et al. 1999, Pop et al. 1999.)

As recently as 1998, only one study had shown any adverse effect of perchlorate at levels as low as 0.01 micrograms per kilogram of drinking water a day. More recent research has shown that even at this very low dose level, perchlorate induces significant effects on the levels of thyroid hormones in the mother, fetus and offspring. (Crofton 2001.) And similar low dose studies have found “a large number of significant effects” on brain structure and thyroid structure. (Argus 2001, EPA 2002.)

A clear trend among the most recent perchlorate studies is more profound effects were seen in laboratory animals who were exposed in utero. This is unsurprising, given that research has shown that marginal iodine deficiency has significant effects on the fetal thyroid even if no effects are seen in the mother. One study, for instance, found that the thyroids of pregnant rats were able to compensate for marginal iodide deficiency in the diet but that such compensation did not take place in the fetal offspring which showed a 50 percent decrease in iodide uptake. (Versloot et. al. 1997.)

One recent study found thyroid tumors in second-generation exposed rats at extremely young ages. In fact, out of thirty rat pups which were exposed to perchlorate both in utero and as pups, two developed thyroid tumors after just 19 weeks. (Argus 1999.) These types of thyroid tumors are extremely rare, especially when seen this early: The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) had estimated the probability of this occurring at less than two-tenths of one percent. (EPA 2002.) Although the dose tested was significantly higher than what might be consumed in drinking water, the findings are troubling because they point to the possibility of in utero programming. This phenomenon, in which fetal exposure leads to a higher susceptibility to hormone perturbation during development and adulthood, has been seen in other cases of endocrine disruption. (Prins et al. 2001, Phillips et al. 1998. Seckl 1997.)

Because iodide is concentrated not only by the thyroid gland, but also by the mammary gland, one of the questions lingering after the peer review of EPA’s 1998 provisional reference dose was whether perchlorate would be found or concentrated in breast milk. Recent technological improvements made it possible to look into this question and the results were troubling. Perchlorate was found in the milk of rats that were given very low doses of perchlorate in drinking water (0.01 mg/kg-day), leading the EPA to conclude that rat pups “are in fact exposed to significant levels of perchlorate through the maternal milk.” (Yu 2000, EPA 2002.)

Of several epidemiological studies looking at the effects of perchlorate exposure on newborn infants, only two were funded by entities that did not have a significant stake in the outcome of the results. One study, conducted by the Arizona Department of Health Services, found differences in infant thyroid hormone levels among babies in Arizona born to mothers who had consumed perchlorate-tainted Colorado River water as compared to mothers who had not been exposed to perchlorate during pregnany. (Brechner et al. 2000.)

These findings were confirmed by another recent study of California newborns which found that concentrations of perchlorate at about the same level proposed as a drinking water standard may affect infant thyroid hormone levels. The looked at the hormone levels of all infants born in California in 1996 and compared the hormone levels of infants whose mothers had drunk perchlorate-contaminated water to those whose mothers had not. The study found a statistically significant effect on infant thyroid hormone levels from perchlorate exposure by the mother of only 1 to 2 ppb. The effects were more pronounced at higher dose levels. (Schwartz 2001.)

Studies looking at the ecological effects of perchlorate contamination also raise red flags. For example, one study exposed frog embryos to perchlorate at levels found in some surface and groundwaters. The frogs were found to have inhibited forelimb emergence, significantly lower percentages of animals completing tail resorption, reduced hind limb development, and a skewed sex ratio. (Goleman et al. 2002.) The study notes: “These effects were observed at concentrations at or below concentrations reported in surface waters contaminated with ammonium perchlorate, suggesting that this contaminant may pose a threat to normal development and growth in natural amphibian populations.”

Despite all this new evidence, the Department of Defense and the aerospace and defense industry have been trying to get state and federal officials to base perchlorate risk assessments on the results of a single industry-funded human study. This study (Greer et al. 2002) was designed to characterize the effects of a 14-day exposure on adult males and non-pregnant females. How much its results can be extrapolated to the real world is severely limited by several factors.

  • First, the study subjects had healthy thyroids and high iodine intake levels relative to the normal population — whereas 15 percent of U.S. women of reproductive age may have low iodide consumption. (OEHHA 2002.)
  • Second, adult humans have an extensive reserve of thyroid hormones which would limit the effects of a short-term exposure, but not the harm from the lifelong perchlorate exposure that most people would experience.
  • Third, the study was not conducted on the population of concern: pregnant women, children and infants. Because pregnancy puts stress on the thyroid, and the hormone reserves that exist in adults are smaller in children and virtually nonexistent in infants and neonates, these populations are much more susceptible to inhibition of iodide uptake (Delange and Ermans 1991.)
  • Finally, although the lowest dose tested was designated as a no-effect level in this study, decreased iodide uptake was in fact observed. The EPA has concluded that the study was statistically underpowered to detect significant effects at the lowest dose level, due in part to the small sample size of just seven people. (EPA 2002.)

Despite these numerous and obvious flaws, the Pentagon and industry have used these results to argue for a drinking water standard of 200 ppb.

While state and federal authorities inch towards establishing the first enforceable drinking water standard for perchlorate, an array of proposed standards, action levels” and other proto-standards are circulating. Understandably, this has led to a considerable amount of confusion and frustration within the water-supply industry, which is left with contaminated water and little firm guidance on what level of perchlorate is safe to serve their customers. Unfortunately, none of the proposed standards are likely to be adequate to protect children’s health.

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is explicitly directed to draft Public Health Goals that protect public health including sensitive subpopulations “with an adequate margin of safety.” Yet in its most recent draft, OEHHA relies solely on the results of the small industry-funded human study and uses an inadequate uncertainty factor of only three to account for such considerable uncertainties as the variability between individuals, extrapolating from short-term exposure to long-term exposure, extrapolating from the study population to the population of concern and questions of whether perchlorate concentrates in breast milk. (OEHHA 2002.) Of the 35 other Public Health Goals OEHHA has developed for other contaminants, only four have used uncertainity factors of less than 30. Of those four, one is an essential nutrient (copper), one is deliberately added to water (flouride), and the other two have extensive databases on chronic human effects (lead and nitrate).

In developing its provisional reference dose, the EPA has used a wide base of short-and medium-term animal studies which look at the populations of concern, rather than relying on the single short-term human used by OEHHA. The EPA has also proposed an uncertainty factor of 300 — which, given the considerable uncertainty remaining, still may not be large enough. However, the EPA continues to assert that infant body weight and drinking water figures do not need to be used in the calculation of a drinking water standard. (EPA 2002, EPA 2003.) This is unacceptable.

Neither the EPA nor OEHHA have taken into account the numerous common anti-thyroid chemicals that may worsen the effects of perchlorate, notably the drinking water contaminant nitrate. Neither the EPA nor OEHHA seem to be concerned that epidemiological studies have found effects on infant thyroid hormone levels at about the same perchlorate concentrations which have been proposed as a drinking water standard. And neither have the EPA nor OEHHA adequately taken into consideration the extra perchlorate that may be consumed by eating food grown with contaminated water or fertilizer. (EWG 2002.) To adequately protect the health of the nation’s children a drinking water standard for perchlorate must be set no higher than 0.1 part per billion.

 

    Table 1. There are hundreds of perchlorate-contaminated drinking water sources in California.

    County

    Contaminated water sources (1)

    Contaminated water systems (1)

    Maximum perchlorate level detected (ppb) (2)

    Contaminated sources still active (2)

    Average level (ppb) in contaminated active sources (2)

    Los Angeles

    127

    37

    159

    107

    12.1

    Orange

    15

    7

    10.7

    12

    6.3

    Riverside

    49

    8

    65

    40

    9.7

    Sacramento

    13

    3

    400

    0

    -

    San Bernardino

    78

    16

    820

    50

    18.3

    San Diego

    1

    1

    4.7

    1

    4.5

    Santa Clara (3)

    133

    4

    8.5

    3

    6.2

    Sonoma

    1

    1

    5

    1

    4.5

    Tulare

    7

    3

    9.1

    1

    5.8

    Ventura

    2

    1

    20

    2

    11.6

    Statewide

    426

    81

    820

    217

    8.7

    Source: EWG 2003

    Table 1 notes:

    1. California Department of Health Services (CADHS). 2003. California’s experience with perchlorate in drinking water. February 5, 2003. http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/ddwem/chemicals/perchl/monitoringupdate.htm
    2. Sweeney, F. 2003. Contamination may have spread; more San Martin wells to be tested. February 23, 2003. San Jose Mercury News.
    3. EWG analysis of California Department of Health Services (CADHS) drinking water quality database from June 2002 (CADHS 2002).
    4. Number includes 4 public drinking water wells and 129 private wells. A large new perchlorate plume in the San Martin area of Santa Clara County was discovered in late 2002, but testing of all potentially affected wells has not been completed. Wells that tested positive for perchlorate contamination but had concentrations lower than the "reporting limit" of 4 ppb were not included in this number.

    Table 2. More than 20 million people drink perchlorate-contaminated water from the Colorado River.

    State

    County

    Population drinking Colorado River water (1)

    Arizona

    Maricopa

    2,458,000

     

    Mohave

    43,000

     

    Pima

    15,044

     

    Pinal

    46,281

     

    Yuma

    119,182

    California

    Imperial

    10,300

     

    Los Angeles

    8,898,633

     

    Orange

    2,737,176

     

    Riverside

    954,000

     

    San Bernardino

    700,000

     

    San Diego

    2,800,000

     

    Ventura

    517,000

    Nevada

    Clark

    1,384,505

    Total

    20,683,121

    (1) Underestimate: Does not include systems with fewer than 2,500 customers or those serving Native American tribes.

    Table 2 notes

    1. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2003a. Safe Drinking Water Information System. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/sdwis/sdwis_ov.html.
    2. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). 2002. Member agency profiles. http://www.mwd.dst.ca.us/mwdh2o/pages/memberag/member02.html

    Table 3. Outside California, more than 100 drinking water sources in 19 states are known to be contaminated with perchlorate.

    State

    Location

    Number of contaminated sources

    Maximum concentration (ppb)*

     

    Colorado River

     

    9

     

    Lake Mead

     

    24

    AL

    Escambia County: Atmore Utility Board

    2

    8.9

    AZ

    Maricopa County

    (1)

    (4)

    AZ

    La Paz County: Brooke Water-Lakeside

    3

    6

    GA

    Oconee County: Oconee Co.- Watkinsville

    1

    38

    GA

    Houston County: Feagin Mill

    1

    5.2

    IA

    Clinton

    (3)

    (6)

    IN

    Greenwood

    (1)

    (4)

    MA

    Bourne

    2

    0.4

    MD

    Aberdeen

    3

    2

    MD

    Hagerstown

    1

    4

    MN

    Rice County: Northfield Water

    1

    6.02

    MN

    Ramsey County: New Brighton Water

    1

    4.54

    NC

    Nash County: Vick's MHP

    2

    6.2

    NE

    Lewiston

    1

    5

    NJ

    Middlesex County: Middlesex Water Co

    3

    7.1

    NM

    Clovis

    (1)

    (4)

    NM

    Near eastern border of state

    7

    7.1

    NV

    Clark County: Mohave Generating Station

    3

    6.8

    NY

    Westhampton

    1

    16

    NY

    Yaphank

    1

    24

    NY

    Nassau County: Plainview WD

    5

    11

    NY

    Nassau County: Bethpage WD

    3

    5

    PA

    Yardley

    (1)

    (5)

    PA

    Lancaster County: Columbia Water Co

    1

    12.1

    PA

    Crawford County: Meadville Area Water Authority

    1

    32.7

    PA

    Huntington County: Huntington Boro Water Dept

    1

    6.7

    PA

    Berks County: Muhlenberg Town Municipal Authority

    1

    4

    TX

    Midland, Hockley, Gaines, Dawson, Glascock, Martin, Andrews, Ector, and Howard Counties

    47 systems**

    32

    UT

    Magna

    1

    16

    UT

    Promontory

    1

    42

    VA

    Accomack County: Perdue Farms Inc

    1

    4.3

    WA

    Puyallup

    4

    8

    WA

    Pierce County: Lakewood WD

    2

    6

    *Parentheses indicates unconfirmed detections. PPB = parts per billion.
    **Number of contaminated sources in these systems not available

    Source: EWG 2003

    Table 3 notes:

    1. Associated Press (AP). 2002. High levels of chemical found in West Texas drinking water. April 23, 2002.
    2. Clean Water Report (CWR). 2002. Possible perchlorate lessons to learn as pollutant progresses to city wells; Maryland. August 12, 2002.
    3. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2001. Memorandum re: Perchlorate occurrence table and maps. March 2, 2001.
    4. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2003b. Data downloaded from EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule database. Data as of January 2003. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/data/ucmrgetdata.html.
    5. Gullick, RW; Lechevallier, MW; Barhorst, TS. 2001. Occurrence of perchlorate in drinking water sources. American Water Works Association Journal. Jan 2001: 66-76.
    6. Rogers, K. 2003. Company seeks help with cleanup. Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 11, 2003.
    7. Sweeney, F. 2003. Contamination may have spread; more San Martin wells to be tested. February 23, 2003. San Jose Mercury News.

    Table 4. More than 50 sites nationwide have high levels of perchlorate contamination of ground water or soil.

    State

    City

    Facility

    Source of contamination

    Type of contamination

    Maximum concentration (ppb)

    AL

    Huntsville

    Redstone Arsenal
    Missile Plant

    Explosives
    production

    Ground Water

    19,000

    AZ

    Benson

    Apache Nitrogen Products

    Explosives manufacturing

    Ground Water

    670

    AZ

    Chandler, Gila River Indian Reservation

    Aerodyne

    Propellant testing

    Ground Water

    18

    AZ

    Tucson

    Davis Monthan Air Force Base

    Explosives/
    propellant disposal

    Soil

    NA

    AZ

    Goodyear, Phoenix Goodyear Airport

    Unidynamics Phoenix, Inc.

    Explosives/
    ordnance manufacturing

    Ground Water

    80

    AZ

    Phoenix

    Universal Propulsion

    Rocket manufacturing

    Soil

    NA

    AZ

    Maricopa County

    Unidynamics Phoenix, Inc. White Tanks Disposal Area

    Explosives/
    ordnance disposal

    Soil

    NA

    AR

    East Camden

    Atlantic Research

    Rocket manufacturing
    and disposal- open burn/open detonation

    Ground Water

    2,000,000

           

    Surface Water

    480,000

           

    Soil

    1,000,000

    CA

    Glen Avon

    Grand Central Rocket

    Dumping at Stringfellow toxic waste dump

    Ground Water

    87,000

    CA

    Yuba City

    Beale AFB

    Titan missile production

     

    NA

    CA

    Rancho Cordova and Mather Air Force Base

    Aerojet General

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    640,000

    CA

    Lincoln

    Alpha explosives

    Explosives manufacturing

    Ground Water

    67,000

    CA

    Santa Susana

    Boeing/Rocketdyne, NASA at Santa Susana Field Lab US DOE

    Rocket research, testing and production

    Ground Water

    750

    CA

    Edwards

    Edwards Air Force Base, Jet Propulsion Lab, North Base

    Rocket research

    Ground Water

    300

    CA

    Orange County

    El Toro Marine Corps Air Station

    Explosives disposal

    Ground Water

    380

    CA

    Tracy

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300

    US Department of Energy explosives research

    Ground Water

    84

    CA

    Redlands

    Lockheed Propulsion

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    NA

    CA

    Pasadena

    NASA Jet Propulsion Lab

    Rocket research

    Ground Water

    6,000

    CA

    Rialto

    B.F. Goodrich and/or Fireworks Facility

    Rocket research and manufacturing and/or fireworks manufacture

    Ground Water

    NA

    CA

    Glendale

    Grand Central Rocket

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    84

    CA

    Baldwin Park

    Aerojet General

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    2,180

    CA

    San Nicholas Island, Ventura County

    US Navy Firing Range

    Explosives

    Ground Water

    NA

    CA

    San Jose

    United Technologies (UTC)

    Rocket testing

    Ground Water

    180,000

    CA

    Santa Clarita

    Whittaker-Bermite Ordnance

    Ordnance manufacturing

    Surface Water

    3,000

    CA

    Hollister

    Whittaker Ordnance

    Ordnance manufacturing

    Ground Water

    810

    IA

    Ewart

    Unknown

    Unknown

    Ground Water

    29

    IA

    Napier

    Unknown

    Unknown

    Ground Water

    10

    KS

    Herington

    Ammunition Facility

    Ammunition

    Ground Water

    9

    MA

    Bourne

    Massachusetts Military Reservation

    Rocket disposal- open burn/open detonation

    Ground Water

    300

    MD

    Indian Head

    Naval Surface Warfare Center

    Propellant handling

    Surface Water

    >1000

    MD

    Aberdeen

    Aberdeen Proving Ground

    Unknown

    Ground Water

    24

    MO

    Joplin

    ICI Explosives

    Unknown

    Ground Water

    107,000

    MO

    Independence

    Lake City Army Ammunition Facility

    Ammunition

    Ground Water

    79

    NE

    Mead

    Unknown

    Fireworks facility

    Ground Water

    24

    NM

    Gallup

    Fort Windgate Depot Activity

    Explosives disposal

    Ground Water

    2,860

    NM

    Alamogordo

    Hollomon Air Force Base

    Rocket testing

    Ground Water

    40

           

    Surface Water

    16,000

    NM

    Los Alamos

    Los Alamos National Lab

    US DOE lab chemicals

    Ground Water

    1,662

           

    Surface Water

    NA

    NM

    White Rock

    Los Alamos National Lab

    US DOE lab chemicals

    Surface Water

    9

    NM

    Melrose

    Melrose Air Force Range

    Explosives

    Ground Water

    25

    NM

    White Sands

    White Sands Missile Range

    Rocket testing

    Ground Water

    21,000

    NV

    Henderson

    Kerr-McGee/BMI

    Perchlorate manufacturing

    Ground Water

    3,700,000

           

    Surface Water

    120,000

    NV

    Henderson

    American Pacific Corp/PEPCON

    Perchlorate manufacturing

    Ground Water

    600,000

    NY

    Westhampton

    Unknown

    Unknown

    Ground Water

    3370

    NY

    Yaphank

    Unknown

    Unknown

    Ground Water

    122

    TX

    Karnak

    Longhorn Army Ammunition Depot

    Munitions manufacture, Propellant handling

    Ground Water

    169,000

           

    Surface Water

    11,000

    TX

    McGregor

    McGregor Naval Weapons Plant

    Propellant handling

    Ground Water

    91,000

           

    Surface Water

    22,000

    TX

    Amarillo

    Pantex (Department of Energy)

    Open burning/ Open detonation, Explosives

    Ground Water

    5

    TX

    Texarkana

    Red River Army Depot

    Open burning/ Open detonation, Propellant handling

    Ground Water

    80

    TX

    Texarkana

    Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant

    Open burning/ Open detonation, Propellant handling

    Ground Water

    NA

    UT

    Magna

    Alliant Tech Systems

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    13

    UT

    Kennecott

    Alliant Tech Systems

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    5

    UT

    Promontory

    Thiokol

    Rocket manufacturing

    Ground Water

    NA

    WA

    near Vancouver

    Camp Bonneville

    Explosives/propellant disposal

    Soil

    NA

    WV

    Rocket Center

    Allegheny Ballistics Lab

    Rocket research production, open burn/open detonation

    Surface Water

    400

    NA = not available.
    Source: EWG 2003

    Table 4 notes:

    1. Associated Press (AP). 2003. Army wants company to pay for Redstone cleanup. January 20, 2003.
    2. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). ND. Public Health Assessment: Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant. Karnack, Harrison County, Texas.
    3. Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CFSWAB). 2002. The potential for perchlorate contamination. A case study: Badger Army Ammunition Plant. May 2002. Merrimac, WI.
    4. Clean Water Report (CWR). 2002. Possible perchlorate lessons to learn as pollutant progresses to city wells; Maryland. August 12, 2002.
    5. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2001. Memorandum re: Perchlorate occurrence table and maps. March 2, 2001.
    6. McGuire, K. 2001. Rocket fuel peril studied Arkansas site's concentration among top in US. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 12, 2001.
    7. Oswald, M. 2002. Springs tested for chemical. Albuquerque Journal. January 29, 2002.
    8. Robertson, J. 2003. Another toxin found in wells at Lake City cleanup site. Kansas City Star. January 28, 2003.
    9. Speckman, S. 2001. Plume of 'dirty' water is moving. The Desert News. June 18, 200.
    10. Tollefson, J. 2003. Contaminated spring found near LANL. The Santa Fe New Mexican, February 9, 2003.

    Table 5. At least 162 sites in 36 states have known manufacturers or users of perchlorate.

    State

    City

    Facility

    Activity

    AL

    Bessemer

    Hercules/Alliant Techsystems

    Munitions, Propellant Supply

    AL

    Huntsville

    Marshall Space Flight Center

    Rocket Research

    AL

    Huntsville

    Thiokol (former); Army Aviation & Missile Command

    Rocket Motor Mfg.

    AL

    Parrish

    Boren-Ireco Co.

    Explosives

    AR

    East Camden

    Atlantic Research Corp.

    Rocket Mfg., Disposal-OB/OD

    AR

    Midland

    Austin Powder Co

    Explosives

    AR

    Pine Bluff

    Pine Bluff Arsenal (US Army)

    Pyrotechnic/ Munitions Mfg.

    AR

    Woodbury

    HiTech

    Unknown

    AZ

    Benson

    Apache Powder Co.

    Explosive Mfg.

    AZ

    Mesa

    Talley Defense Systems, Inc., Mesa

    Propellant Mfg.

    AZ

    Phoenix

    Universal Propulsion Co., Inc.

    Rocket Mfg.

    AZ

    Tempe

    Aerodyne Corp.

    Rocket Mfg.

    AZ

    Tucson

    Davis Monthan Air Force Base

    Propellant/Explosives Disposal

    AZ

    Yuma

    Yuma Proving Ground (US Army)

    Rocket Testing

    CA

    Alisa Viejo

    G.G. Industries

    Propellant Mfg.

    CA

    Azusa

    Aerojet General Corp.

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Baldwin Park

    Aerojet General Corp.

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Barstow

    Mojave Pyrotechnics

    Fireworks

    CA

    China Lake

    Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake

    Rocket Research/ Testing

    CA

    Concord

    Weapons Support Facility, Seal Beach

    Weapons Storage

    CA

    Culver City

    Western Electrochemical (American Pacific)

    Unknown

    CA

    Edwards

    Edwards AFB/Jet Propulsion Lab

    Rocket Research and Testing

    CA

    Fallbrook

    Weapons Support Facility, Seal Beach

    Weapons Storage

    CA

    Gardena

    TOPTH Inc.

    Unknown

    CA

    Herlong

    Sierra Army Depot

    Munitions

    CA

    Hollister

    FMC

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Hollister

    Whittaker Ordnance

    Missile Mfg.

    CA

    Ione

    M.P. Associates

    Pyrotechnic Mfg.

    CA

    Lincoln

    Alpha Explosives

    Explosives Mfg.

    CA

    Llano

    Odee Mfg. Co.

    Unknown

    CA

    Long Beach

    TOPTH Inc.

    Unknown

    CA

    Middletown

    Reynolds Systems Inc. /FMC

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Morgan Hill

    Olin Corporation

    Flare and Ammunition Mfg.

    CA

    Ontario

    Dynamic Propellant

    Propellant Mfg. (?)

    CA

    Pasadena

    Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA)

    Rocket Testing

    CA

    Pomona

    US Rocket

    Rockets: Hobby Mfg.

    CA

    Rancho Cordova

    Aerojet General Corp.

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Redlands

    Lockheed Propulsion Company (Former)

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Rialto

    Astro Pyrotechnics

    Theatrical Pyrotechnics Mfg.

    CA

    Riverside

    McKesson Chemical Co.

    Chemical Mfg. ?

    CA

    San Diego

    Space Warfare Systems Center, San Diego

    Weapons Research

    CA

    San Jose

    Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion (United Technologies)

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Santa Clarita

    Whittaker-Bermite Ordnance

    Ordnance Mfg.

    CA

    Saugus

    Bermite Division., Whittaker corp.

    Ordnance Mfg.

    CA

    Saugus

    Hi-Shear Technology Corp.

    Defense Pyrotechnics

    CA

    Torrance

    Hi-Shear Industries

    Rocket Mfg.

    CA

    Tracy

    Lawrence Nat'l Lab, DOE Experimental Site 300

    Explosives Research

    CA

    Vandenberg AFB

    Vandenberg AFB

    Rocket Testing/ Launching

    CA

    Windsor

    Starflight Space Technologies

    Rocket Mfg.

    CO

    Colorado Springs

    Vulcan Systems Inc. (Former)

    Unknown

    CO

    Englewood

    Gateway Safety Products

    Industrial Protective Gear

    CO

    Penrose

    Estes Industries, Inc. / Vulcan Systems Inc.

    Hobby Rocket Mfg

    CO

    Whitewater

    KSI Inc.

    Aerospace (?)

    FL

    Brooksville

    Thermex Energy

    Explosives Mfg

    FL

    Cape Canaveral

    Patrick Air Force Base

    Rocket Launch Site

    FL

    Hollywood

    CCT

    Rocket Launch Site

    FL

    Niceville

    Eglin Air Force Base

    Munitions Testing

    FL

    Tampa

    Girindus

    Chemical Mfg.

    GA

    Byron

    ICI Americas Inc.

    Explosives Mfg

    ID

    Pocatello

    Firefox Enterprises

    Chemical Retailer

    IL

    Danville

    World /Star Fireworks

    Fireworks

    IL

    Edwardsville

    Propellex Corp.

    Military Explosives

    IL

    Joliet

    Talley Defense Systems (former)

    Propellant Mfg.

    IL

    Marion

    Olin Corp (currently Primex)

    Explosives Storage/Mfg.

    IL

    Savanna

    JOCG - U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center

    Explosives/Munitions Training

    IL

    South Beloit

    Orion Safety Products

    Warning Flares Production

    IN

    Crane

    Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division

    Missile/ Pyrotechnic Storage/Mfg.

    IN

    Kingsbury

    Melrose Pyrotechnics Inc.

    Fireworks

    IN

    Peru

    Olin Corp

    Sporting Ammunition

    KS

    Hallowell

    Slurry Explosives Corp.

    Explosives

    KS

    Herington

    Pyrodex Corp.

    Sporting Ammunition

    LA

    New Orleans

    Bartlett Chemicals Inc.

    Chemical Mfg.

    MD

    Aberdeen

    Aberdeen Proving Ground (US Army)

    Weapon Testing/Research

    MD

    Cumberland

    Allied Tech

    Aerospace ?

    MD

    Elkton

    Cordant Technologies, Inc.

    Rocket Propulsion Technology

    MD

    Elkton

    Elkton Sparkler Fireworks Mfg. Co.

    Mfg & Wholesale Fireworks

    MD

    Indian Head

    Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division

    Propellant Mfg.

    MD

    Silver Springs

    Naval Surface Warfare Center, White Oak

    Explosives Research

    MD

    West Bethesda

    Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division

    Rocket Testing

    MI

    Ishpeming

    Ireco

    Explosives Mfg.

    MN

    Biwabik

    Nitrochem Energy Group - Thermex

    Explosives Mfg ?

    MN

    Foley

    Aerial Arts

    Unknown

    MN

    Gilbert

    Cook Slurry Co.

    Explosives Mfg.

    MO

    Joplin

    ICI Explosives USA Inc.

    Explosives Mfg.

    MS

    Columbus

    Hooker Chemical, Foote Mineral (now Eka Nobel)

    Chemical Mfg.

    MS

    Iuka

    GenCorp - Aerojet (Former)

    Rocket Research

    MS

    Iuka

    Yellow Creek Production Facility (NASA/Thiokol)

    Rocket Research

    NC

    Greensboro

    Vick Chemical (former)

    Unknown

    NC

    Mcleansville

    Gulf Oil/Thermex Energy

    Explosives Mfg ?

    NC

    Riegelwood

    Wright Chemical, Atlas Powder

    Explosives

    ND

    Fargo

    Starr Display Fireworks

    Fireworks Mfg.

    ND

    Kindred

    Dakota Pyrotechnics Inc.

    Fireworks Mfg.

    NJ

    Newark

    Fairmount Chemical Co Inc.

    Chemical Mfg.

    NJ

    Newfield

    Shieldalloy Corp.

    Explosives Mfg.

    NJ

    Orange

    H. Reisman Corp

    Unknown

    NJ

    Morris County

    Picatinny Arsenal (US Army)

    Explosives Research, Mfg., Disposal

    NJ

    South Plainfield

    Hummel Chemical Co.

    Unknown

    NM

    Las Cruces

    White Sands Missile Range (NASA/NASA)

    Rocket Testing

    NM

    Los Alamos

    Los Alamos National Laboratory DOE

    Lab Chemical

    NM

    Roswell

    Longhorn Manufacturing

    Fireworks

    NV

    Fernley

    BOKMA Resources

    Unknown

    NV

    Hawthorne

    Hawthorne Army Depot

    Unknown

    NV

    Henderson

    Kerr-McGee Chemical

    Chemical Mfg.

    NV

    Henderson

    PEPCON (aka American Pacific)

    Chemical Mfg.

    NV

    Las Vegas

    AeroTech / Industrial Solid Propulsion Inc.

    Rocket Research

    NV

    Lockwood

    Largo Marsino

    Unknown

    NV

    Sparks

    Hi-Shear Industries

    Unknown

    NY

    Brooklyn

    Witco Corp.

    Chemical Mfg.

    NY

    Delanson

    Atlas Advance Pyrotechnics

    Fireworks

    NY

    Mineola

    Island Pyrotechnical

    Fireworks

    NY

    Niagara Falls

    Hooker Chemicals

    Chemical Mfg.

    OH

    Columbus

    GFS Chemicals, Inc.

    Chemical Mfg.

    OH

    Fostoria

    Standard RWY Fusee

    Flare Mfg.

    OH

    Lisbon

    Hilltop Energy (AnGel)

    Explosives Mfg.

    OH

    Marietta

    Servo Dynamics

    Creators of Propellant Gas Petroleum Extraction

    OH

    Steubenille

    Barium & Chemicals, Inc.

    Chemical Mfg.

    OK

    Claremore

    Cardox Corp

    Chemical Mfg.

    OK

    McAlester

    McAlester Army Ammunition Plant

    Ammunition/ Explosives Storage

    OR

    Portland

    Elf Atochem North America

    Chemical Mfg.

    PA

    Chambersburg

    Letterkenny Army Depot

    Missile/Ammo Storage/Maintenance

    PA

    Hatfield

    Aerial Arts

    Unknown

    PA

    Kittanning

    Kesco Inc.

    Explosives Mfg.

    PA

    Mechanicsburg

    Naval Inventory Control Point, Mechanicsburg

    Weapons Distribution

    PA

    Mt. Carmel

    Explo-Tech Inc. (AnGel)

    Explosives Mfg.

    PA

    Philadelphia

    Naval SWC, Carderock Division, SSES Philadelphia

    Propellant Handling

    PA

    Tamaqua

    Atlas Powder Co.

    Explosives Mfg.

    PA

    Telford

    Service Chemical

    Chemical Mfg.

    SC

    Columbia

    Phillips Components

    Unknown

    TN

    Louisville

    AnGel (?DYNO Southeast Inc)

    Unknown

    TN

    Toone

    Alliant Techsystems, Kilgore Corp.

    Propulsion/Munitions Mfg.

    TX

    Corpus Christi

    Servo-Dynamics Inc.

    Explosives

    TX

    Karnack

    Longhorn Army Ammunition

    Propellant Handling

    TX

    Kennedale

    Harrison Jet Guns

    Unknown

    TX

    Mansfield

    Shaped Charge Specialist Inc.

    Explosives

    TX

    Marshall

    RTF Industries Inc.

    Pyrotechnic Mfg.

    TX

    McGregor

    Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant

    Rocket Mfg.

    TX

    Rosharon

    Schlumberger

    Explosives

    TX

    Waco

    M & M Chemical

    Chemical Mfg.

    UT

    Brigham City

    Thiokol

    Rocket Mfg.

    UT

    Cedar City

    AeroTech / Industrial Solid Propulsion Inc.

    Rocket Mfg.

    UT

    Cedar City

    Western Electrochemical (American Pacific Corp)

    Chemical Mfg.

    UT

    Dugway

    Dugway Proving Ground (US Army)

    Rocket Testing

    UT

    Lehi

    Dyno Nobel Inc.

    Explosives Mfg, Research, Testing

    UT

    Magna

    Bacchus Works, Alliant Techsystems, Inc.

    Rocket Mfg.

    UT

    Ogden

    Autoliv Inc.

    Auto Air Bags

    UT

    Ogden

    Defense Depot Utah

    Chemical Distribution

    UT

    Ogden

    Hill AFB

    Missile Maintenance, propellant testing

    UT

    Thiokol

    Thiokol

    Rocket Mfg. Waste Discharge

    UT

    Tooele

    Tooele Army Depot

    Ammunition storage, Mfg, Repair, open burning

    UT

    West Valley City

    Alliant Tech, Niro Plant

    Rocket Research/ Testing

    VA

    Duffield

    Paige Ireco (formerly Gibson Explosives) (Dyno Nobel)

    Explosives Mfg.

    VA

    Gainsville

    Atlantic Research Corp

    Rocket Research/Mfg

    VA

    Radford

    Radford Army Ammunition Plant

    Explosives Mfg.

    VA

    Yorktown

    Naval Weapons Station-Yorktown

    Explosives Mfg.

    WA

    Olympia

    Ireco (Alaska Pacific Powder Co)

    Explosives Mfg.

    WA

    Port Hadlock

    Weapons Support Facility, Seal Beach

    Ammunition Storage, Distribution

    WI

    Delafield

    Bartolotta Fireworks

    Fireworks Mfg.

    WV

    Newell

    Newell Specialties

    Unknown

    WV

    Rocket Center

    Alliant Tech; Naval Ordnance, Allegheny Ballistics

    Lab

    Rocket Mfg.

    WV

    Romney

    Appalachian Explosives (AnGel)

    Unknown

    WY

    Mills

    Thermex Energy

    Explosives Mfg.

    Source: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2001. Memorandum re: Perchlorate occurrence table and maps. March 2, 2001.

    Table 6. Perchlorate testing is urgently needed at 63 Department of Defense sites.

    State

    City

    Facility

    Why testing needed

    AL

    Childersburg

    Alabama Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions production

    AL

    Anniston

    Anniston Air Force base

    Ammunition/ missile maintenance and storage

    AR

    East Camden

    Shumaker Ordnance Plant/ Camden Naval Ordnance Plant,

    US Naval Ammunition Depot

    Mfg, testing, disposal of ammunitions, explosives and

    rockets

    AZ

    Tucson

    Air Force Plant 44

    Missile production, explosives storage

    AZ

    Flagstaff

    Camp Navajo, Navajo Depot Activity

    Ammunition/explosives disposal, rocket/missile maintenance

    AZ

    Pinal County

    Florence Military Reservation

    Explosive ordnance disposal

    AZ

    Gila Bend

    Barry M. Goldwater Range

    Rocket, ordnance testing

    CA

    Modesto

    Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant

    Ammunition plant

    CA

    Fresno

    Fresno Air National Guard Base

    Munitions storage area

    CA

    Burbank

    Air Force Plant 14

    Missile production

    CA

    Point Magu

    Naval Air Weapons Station

    Missile testing

    CA

    Alameda and San Joaquin Counties

    Lawrence Livermore National Labs Site 300

    Explosives testing, open burn/detonation

    CA

    Rancho Cordova

    Air Force Plant 70

    Rocket mfg.

    CO

    Denver

    Lowry Air Force Base

    Solid rocket fuel used on base

    HI

    Western Oahu

    Makua Military Reservation

    Open burn/detonation of ordnance

    IA

    Middletown

    Iowa Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions/ explosives mfg, testing, disposal

    ID

    Mountain Home

    Mountain Home AFB

    Titan missile production, maintenance, munitions storage

    IL

    Near Chicago

    Joliet Army Ammunitions Plant

    Burning and demolition of explosives

    IL

    Savanna

    Savanna Army Depot

    Storage/disposal of munitions/explosives

    IL/IA

    Rock Island/Davenport

    Rock Island Arsenal

    Ordnance mfg. - largest weapons mfg arsenal in western

    world

    IN

    Bloomington

    NSWC Crane Division

    Explosive disposal, ammunitions production, storage

    IN

    Charlestown

    Indiana Army Ammunition Plant

    Rocket propellant plant

    IN

    Madison

    Jefferson Range/ Jefferson Proving Ground

    Rocket testing

    KS

    Parson

    Kansas Army Ammunition Plant

    Burning and demolition of explosives

    KS

    Kansas City

    Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant

    Powder plant

    KY

    Richmond

    Blue Grass Chemical Activity

    Rocket/munitions storage/disposal

    LA

    Shreveport

    Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant

    Ammunition plant

    MA

    Watertown

    Army Materials Technology Laboratory/ Waterman Arsenal

    Munitions development, testing

    MI

    Hanson

    Camp Grayling

    Ammunition supply point

    MN

    St Paul

    Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant

    Ammunition production and demilitarization

    MO

    St Louis

    St Louis Army Ammunition Plant, St Louis Ordnance Plant

    Munitions plant

    MO

    Neosho

    Camp Crowder, Air Force Plant 65

    Test-firing rocket engines

    MS

    Slidell

    Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions production

    ND

    Minot

    Minot AFB

    Missile production and testing

    NE

    Grand Island

    Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions production

    NE

    Omaha

    Offutt AFB

    Missile production testing

    NM

    Albuquerque

    Kirtland AFB

    Rocket research

    NM

    Alamogordo

    Holloman AFB

    Missile testing

    NV

    Las Vegas

    Nellie AFB

    Munitions storage

    NV

    Tonopah

    Tonopah Test Range

    Explosives testing

    NY

    Buffalo

    Air Force Plant 38

    Rocket motors (construction support)

    NY

    Watervliet

    Watervliet Arsenal

    Rocket motor/artillery production

    NY

    Romulus

    Seneca Army Depot

    Ammunition/explosives/missile burning

    OH

    Ravenna

    Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant

    Explosives mfg. and ammunitions demilitarization

    OH

    Scranton

    Scranton Army Ammunition Plant

    Ammunition plant

    OH

    Cleveland

    NASA Glenn Research Center

    Perchlorate/propulsion research

    OK

    McAlester

    McAlester Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions manufacture, rocket production

    PA

    Chambersburg

    Letterkenny Army Center

    Missile/ammunition storage, testing, maintenance, disposal

    PA

    Tobyhanna

    Tobyhanna Army Depot

    Missile maintenance/ repair

    SC

    Sumter

    Poinsett Range, Shaw AFB

    Open burn/detonation for waste munitions

    SD

    Rapid City

    Ellsworth AFB

    Titan missile production

    TN

    Kingsport

    Holston Army Ammunition Plant

    Explosives and propellant production

    TN

    Tullahoma

    Arnold Engineering Development Center

    Rocket testing

    TN

    Milan

    Milan Army Ammunition Plant

    Ammunitions testing and storage

    TN

    Chattanooga

    Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant

    Explosives mfg.

    TX

    Abilene

    Dyess AFB

    Missile production (Atlas), testing (Minuteman)

    TX

    Boerne

    Camp Stanley Storage Activity

    Munitions production, testing, maintenance

    TX

    Fort Worth

    Air Force Plant 4

    Produces missile components

    TX

    San Antonio

    Kelly AFB

    Propellant handling

    UT

    Brigham City

    Air Force Plant 78

    Rocket motor and missile mfg.

    UT

    Ogden

    Air Force Plant 77

    Rocket motor and missile mfg.

    WI

    Badger

    Badger Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions manufacture

    WI

    Madison

    Badger Army Ammunition Plant

    Munitions manufacture

    Source: EWG 2003

    We’re in this together

    Donate today and join the fight to protect our environmental health.

    References
    1. Argus Research Laboratories, Inc. 1999. Oral (drinking water) two-generation (one litter per generation) reproduction study of ammonium perchlorate in rats. Horsham, PA: Argus Research Laboratories, Inc.; protocol no. 1416-001. As cited in EPA 2002.
    2. Argus Research Laboratories, Inc. 2001. Hormone, thyroid and neurohistological effects of oral (drinking water) exposure to ammonium perchlorate in pregnant and lactating rats and in fetuses and nursing pups exposed to ammonium perchlorate during gestation or via maternal milk. Horsham, PA. As cited in EPA 2002.
    3. Brechner, R. J.; Parkhurst, G. D.; Humble, W. O.; Brown, M. B.; Herman, W. H. 2000. Ammonium perchlorate contamination of Colorado River drinking water is associated with abnormal thyroid function in newborns in Arizona. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 42: 777-782.
    4. Crofton, K. M. 2001. Revised analysis of the thyroid hormone data from the rat developmental "effects" study - Argus protocol 1416-003 [memorandum with attachments to Annie M. Jarabek]. Research Triangle Park, NC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health Effects and Environmental Research Laboratory; December 14 (revised December 28). As cited in EPA 2002.
    5. Delange F and Ermans AM. 1991. Iodine deficiency. In: The Thyroid. A fundamental and clinical text. Braverman LE, Utiger RD, Eds. JB Lippincott, Philadelphia, pp 368-390.
    6. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2002. Perchlorate Environmental Contamination: Toxicological Review and Risk Characterization (External Review Draft). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development. Washington, D.C. NCEA-1-0503.
    7. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2003. Memorandum re: Status of EPA’s Interim Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate. January 22, 2003.
    8. Environmental Working Group (EWG). 2002. Rocket Fuel in Lettuce. https://www.ewg.org/research/suspect-salads/
    9. Goleman, W. L.; Carr, J. A.; Anderson, T. A. 2002. Environmentally relevant concentrations of ammonium perchlorate inhibit thyroid function and alter sex ratios in developing Xenopus laevis. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 21: 590-597.
    10. Haddow JE, Palomaki GE, Allan WC, Williams JR, Knight GJ, Gagnon J, O’Heir CE, Mitchell M, Hermos RJ, Waisbren SE, Faix JD, Klein RZ (1999). Maternal thyroid deficiency during pregnancy and subsequent neuropsychological development of the child. New England Journal of Medicine. 341:549-555.
    11. Greer MA, Goodman G, Pleus RC, and Greer SE. 2002. Health effects assessment for environmental perchlorate contamination: The dose-response for inhibition of thyroidal radioiodine uptake in humans.
    12. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). 2002. Draft Public Health Goal for Perchlorate in Drinking Water. Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology Section. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment California Environmental Protection Agency. March 2002.
    13. Phillips, D. I. W.; Barker, D. J. P.; Fall, C. H. D.; Seckl, J. R.; Whorwood, C. B.; Wood, P. J.; Walker, B. R. 1998. Elevated plasma cortisol concentrations: a link between low birth weight and the insulin resistance syndrome? J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 83: 757-760.
    14. Pop VJ, Kuijpens JL, van Baar AL, Verkerk G, van Son MM, de Vijlder JJ, Vulsma T, Wiersinga WM, Drexhage HA, Vader HL (1999). Low maternal free thyroxine concentrations during early pregnancy are associated with impaired psychomotor development in infancy. Clin Endocrinol 50:149-155.
    15. Prins, G. S.; Birch, L.; Couse, J. F.; Choi, I.; Katzenellenbogen, B.; Korach, K. S. 2001. Estrogen imprinting of the developing prostate gland is mediated through stromal estrogen receptor a: studies with aERKO and bERKO mice. Cancer Res. 61: 6089-6097.
    16. Schwartz, J. 2001. Gestational exposure to perchlorate is associated with measures of decreased thyroid function in a population of California neonates [thesis]. Berkeley, CA: University of California.
    17. Seckl, J. R. 1997. Glucocorticoids, feto-placental 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, and the early life origins of adult disease. Steroids 62: 89-94.
    18. Versloot, P.M., J.P. Schroder-Van der Elst, D. Van der Heide and L. Boogerd. Effects of marginal iodine deficiency during pregnancy: iodide uptake by the maternal and fetal thyroid. American Journal of Physiology. E1121-E1126.
    19. Yu, K. O. 2000. Consultative letter, AFRL-HE-WP-CL-2000-0038, tissue distribution and inhibition of iodide uptake in the thyroid by perchlorate with corresponding hormonal changes in pregnant and lactating rats (drinking water study) [memorandum with attachment to Annie Jarabek]. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH: Air Force Research Laboratory; June 28. As cited in EPA 2002.
    Topics
    Learn about these issues