San Jose
– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established an
official reference dose for perchlorate intake. The level of 0.007
milligrams per kilogram of body weight is consistent with the
recommended reference dose included in the National Academy of
Science’s January report on the adverse heal
th effects of perchlorate.
San Jose – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established an official reference dose for perchlorate intake. The level of 0.007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight is consistent with the recommended reference dose included in the National Academy of Science’s January report on the adverse health effects of perchlorate.
A reference dose is not a drinking water standard. The number represents the maximum amount of perchlorate a person can consume based on body weight. For the average adult that translates into a level of 23 parts per billion, or a 14-parts per billion standard for drinking water. The standard is lower for children and pregnant women.
Previously, the EPA had issued a drinking water standard of 1 part per billion. In response, the U.S. Department of Defense and the defense industry petitioned the NAS to conduct the study it released in January. The current public health goal in California is 6 parts per billion.
Andria Ventura of Clean Water Action, one of several environmental groups pressuring state officials to lower the health goal, stressed Friday that any drinking water standard must account for the most at-risk segments of the population.
“Any standard that is set, must account for the impacts on children and fetuses and other pathways of exposure to truly protect public health,” Ventura said. “If California takes both of these factors into account, the drinking water standard should be 1 ppb or less.”
Perchlorate is a salt compound shown to inhibit thyroid activity in laboratory animals. It was discovered at the Morgan Hill site of a former road-flare factory in 2003. Earlier this month, the Central Coast Regional Water Board ordered the polluting company, Olin Corp., to present a cleanup plan by early next year.
