In a move that has been long awaited by public health advocates, the EPA announced today that it will set a standard to regulate perchlorate, an insidious component in solid rocket fuel that has contaminated millions of Americans exposed to the chemical in drinking water supplies. The Natural Resources News Service first brought the threat of perchlorate to the public’s attention in a series of stories by former Wall Street Journal reporter Peter Waldman, assisted by NRNS reporter David Rosenfeld. The series prompted an ongoing, years-long battle over regulation of military toxins. NRNS discovered that the Navy was well aware of the danger to public health from perchlorate exposure but proceeded to use the chemical in Polaris sea launched ballistic missiles.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson said that setting the standard will protect public health and spark new technologies to clean up drinking water. Based on monitoring conducted from 2001 to 2005, 153 drinking water sources in 26 states contain perchlorate. The standard could take up to two years to develop, the EPA said. Read more at
New York State to Require Environmental Impact Statement for Large Scale LPG Storage in NY Watershed
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Public alarm over plans to store liquefied petroleum gas in salt caverns near here has spiked in recent weeks after the state ruled in November that the project’s developer would need to produce a full environmental impact statement.
Continue reading New York State to Require Environmental Impact Statement for Large Scale LPG Storage in NY Watershed