# Presentation: 423438

## PERCHLORATE 

** **

**PERCHLORATE **

**Kevin Mayer**
**U.S. EPA, Region 9**

**Background and History**

**Occurrence**

**Toxicity**

**Regulatory Status**

## Perchlorate 

**PROBLEM STATEMENTS**

**Is this Chemical in the Environment ?      ****	****(Is there an EXPOSURE ?)**

**With this information, we can start to Make REGULATORY DECISIONS**

**If so, should we worry about this ?**
**	****(Define the TOXICITY)**

## Perchlorate 

**CHEMISTRY**

**Dissolves and Moves Like Salt in Water**

**Highly Soluble, Mobile, Stable**

**Hard to Treat by Usual Methods**

**Hard to Detect Below 400 ppb, until March 1997**

- 4

## Slide 4

## Perchlorate 

**  ****HISTORY**

**1980s - Aware of Perchlorate Use at CA and NV Superfund Sites**

**1990s - Aerojet in Rancho Cordova **
**Discovered at  > 1000 ppb in Groundwater**

**1908 - First Manufactured at Niagara Falls, Eventually at 9 Locations, now only in Cedar City, UT**

**1950s – Used as Human Drug**

## Perchlorate 

**  ****HISTORY**

**1992 and 1995 - EPA Provisional Reference Dose **
**at 4 - 18 ppb**

**1998 - Region 9 Requests Manufacturer’s **
**Information**

**1997 and 1998 - Region 9 Alerts EPA **
**HQ, Regions, and States**

**1997 - Analytical Breakthrough to 4 ppb**

## Perchlorate 

**Perchlorate **
**    ****USES   **

**90% Manufactured for Solid Rocket Fuel**

**Explosives**

**Fireworks, Flares and Smoke Markers**

**Reported in Nitrate Fertilizer from Chile**

## Slide 8

## Perchlorate 

**Perchlorate **

**SHIPMENTS **

**Manufacturer's Information**
**from Region 9 Requests**

**About 240 Facilities**** **

**40+ States**

**Information Not Available Before 1970s**

## PERCHLORATE MANUFACTURERS and USERS

**PERCHLORATE MANUFACTURERS and USERS**

**APRIL, 2003**

## Perchlorate

**Perchlorate**

**OCCURRENCE **

** ****Detections Reported in 35 States**** **

**AL, AZ, AR, CO, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV and PR**

**CALIFORNIA**

**Over 6700 Water Supply Wells Tested**

**Detected in 350 sources,  5+ %**

## US EPA   September 2004 : www.epa.gov/fedfac/documents/perchlorate.htm

## In 1997, 900 pounds per day entered Lake Mead

**By 2001, about 500 pounds per day**
**Measurable entire 300 miles to Mexico**
**Used by Las Vegas Los Angeles,  San Diego, Phoenix and agriculture**
**Water supply for over 15 million people**

**500 ppb 150 ppb**

**10 ppb 7 ppb**

**6 ppb 4 ppb**

**5 ppb <4 ppb**

**5 ppb <4 ppb**

**Lower Colorado River **
**2002 and 2004 Average Perchlorate Concentrations**

## U.S. EPA Region 9

**PERCHLORATE RELEASES **

**Superfund Sites**

**Site Assessment Areas**

**Colorado River Contamination**

- San Fernando (2)

- Santa Clarita

**San**

**Francisco**

**Sacramento**

**San Jose**

**Los Angeles**

*Lake *

*Tahoe*

**M E X I C O**

**C   A   L   I    F   O   R   N   I    A **

**Carson **

**City**

**Reno**

**Las Vegas**

**N    E    V    A    D    A **

**A   R   I   Z   O   N   A **

- Hollister (2)

- Edwards AFB

- Rialto

- Corona

- Santa

- Susanna

- El Toro MCAS

- Lincoln

- LLNL Site 300

**Phoenix**

**Tucson**

- San Nicholas

- Stringfellow

- Benson Apache

- Gila River Brownfields

- Davis Monthan

- Goodyear

- White Tanks

- Rancho Cordova

- Aerojet

- BMI Kerr-McGee

- PEPCON

- Island

**State Lead Sites**

- Tulare County

- Vandenberg AFB

- Casmalia

- San Gabriel ( 3)

- NASA JPL

*U.S. EPA Region 9*

- Redlands

- Wyle

- Chino Basin(2)

- UTC

- San Martin

- Santa Clara

- Sonoma

- June 2004 CA-32    AZ-7      NV-3