California Moves To Limit Perchlorate

California has taken the first step toward ratcheting down the amount of perchlorate allowed in the state’s public drinking water supplies. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently set a nonbinding advisory goal of 1 ppb of perchlorate in drinking water. The state will use this goal as it reviews its legally enforceable standard of 6 ppb, which it set in 2007. The new goal “reflects infants’ increased susceptibility to the health effects of perchlorate,” says OEHHA Director George Alexeeff. The 1-ppb goal “would provide health protection for people of all ages,” he adds. Perchlorate can interfere with the thyroid’s ability to take up and use iodine. The American Chemistry Council, an industry association, argues that a 1-ppb goal would provide no additional health benefit to the public. Manufactured for use in airbags, fireworks, and as a component of rocket fuel, perchlorate also occurs naturally. EPA has not set a federal standard for perchlorate in drinking water.