Perchlorate Background Information Background on Perchlorate Perchlorate compounds have been widely used as solid rocket propellants and ignitable sources in munitions and fireworks.
Perchlorates are also a laboratory waste by-product of perchloric acid.
Perchlorate salts, particularly potassium perchlorate, have been used therapeutically to treat hyperthyroidism resulting from Graves' disease and amiodorone-induced thyrotoxicosis. Recent advances in analytical chemistry for perchlorate have revealed that perchlorate is present in the public drinking water supply in several areas in California and also present in Lake Mead in Nevada. Therefore, State and Federal regulatory agencies are conducting risk assessments on perchlorate in order to develop drinking water standards to protect the public. The perchlorate ion is a tetrahedron with four oxygen molecules at the corners and a chlorine atom at the center. Many studies have examined the effects of perchlorate in Graves' patients but few have studied the effects in normal humans.