[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 78 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 78

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of pregnant 
 women, fetuses, infants, and children by requiring a health advisory 
              and drinking water standard for perchlorate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of pregnant 
 women, fetuses, infants, and children by requiring a health advisory 
              and drinking water standard for perchlorate.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Pregnant Women and 
Children From Perchlorate Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) perchlorate--
                    (A) is a chemical used as the primary ingredient of 
                solid rocket propellant; and
                    (B) is also used in fireworks, road flares, and 
                other applications;
            (2) waste from the manufacture and improper disposal of 
        chemicals containing perchlorate is increasingly being 
        discovered in soil and water;
            (3) according to the Government Accountability Office, 
        perchlorate contamination has been detected in water and soil 
        at almost 400 sites in the United States, with concentration 
        levels ranging from 4 parts per billion to millions of parts 
        per billion;
            (4) the Government Accountability Office has determined 
        that the Environmental Protection Agency does not centrally 
        track or monitor perchlorate detections or the status of 
        perchlorate cleanup, so a greater number of contaminated sites 
        may already exist;
            (5) according to the Government Accountability Office, 
        limited Environmental Protection Agency data show that 
        perchlorate has been found in 35 States and the District of 
        Columbia and is known to have contaminated 153 public water 
        systems in 26 States;
            (6) those data are likely underestimates of total drinking 
        water exposure, as illustrated by the finding of the California 
        Department of Health Services that perchlorate contamination 
        sites have affected approximately 273 drinking water sources 
        and 86 drinking water systems in the State of California alone;
            (7) Food and Drug Administration scientists and other 
        scientific researchers have detected perchlorate in the United 
        States food supply, including in lettuce, milk, cucumbers, 
        tomatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, wheat, and spinach, and in human 
        breast milk;
            (8)(A) perchlorate can harm human health, especially in 
        pregnant women and children, by interfering with uptake of 
        iodide by the thyroid gland, which is necessary to produce 
        important hormones that help control human health and 
        development;
            (B) in adults, the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism;
            (C) in children, the thyroid helps to ensure proper mental 
        and physical development; and
            (D) impairment of thyroid function in expectant mothers or 
        infants may result in effects including delayed development and 
        decreased learning capability;
            (9)(A) in October 2006, researchers from the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention published the largest, most 
        comprehensive study to date on the effects of low levels of 
        perchlorate exposure in women, finding that--
                    (i) significant changes existed in thyroid hormones 
                in women with low iodine levels who were exposed to 
                perchlorate; and
                    (ii) even low-level perchlorate exposure may affect 
                the production of hormones by the thyroid in iodine-
                deficient women; and
            (B) in the United States, about 36 percent of women have 
        iodine levels equivalent to or below the levels of the women in 
        the study described in subparagraph (A); and
            (10) the Environmental Protection Agency has not 
        established a health advisory or national primary drinking 
        water regulation for perchlorate, but instead established a 
        ``Drinking Water Equivalent Level'' of 24.5 parts per billion 
        for perchlorate, which--
                    (A) does not take into consideration all routes of 
                exposure to perchlorate;
                    (B) has been criticized by experts as failing to 
                sufficiently consider the body weight, unique exposure, 
                and vulnerabilities of certain pregnant women and 
                fetuses, infants, and children; and
                    (C) is based primarily on a small study and does 
                not take into account new, larger studies of the 
                Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other 
                data indicating potential effects at lower perchlorate 
                levels than previously found.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to require the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency to establish, by not later than 90 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, a health advisory for 
        perchlorate in drinking water that--
                    (A) is fully protective of, and considers, the body 
                weight and exposure patterns of pregnant women, 
                infants, and children;
                    (B) provides an adequate margin of safety; and
                    (C) takes into account all routes of exposure to 
                perchlorate;
            (2) to require the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency to establish not later than 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of this Act a national primary drinking water 
        regulation for perchlorate that fully protects pregnant women, 
        infants, and children, taking into consideration body weight, 
        exposure patterns, and all routes of exposure to perchlorate.

SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATION 
              FOR PERCHLORATE.

    Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-
1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Perchlorate.--
                            ``(i) Health advisory.--Notwithstanding any 
                        other provision of this section, not later than 
                        90 days after the date of enactment of this 
                        subparagraph, the Administrator shall publish a 
                        health advisory for perchlorate that is fully 
                        protective, with an adequate margin of safety, 
                        of the health of vulnerable persons (including 
                        pregnant women, infants, and children), taking 
                        into consideration body weight, exposure 
                        patterns, and all routes of exposure.
                            ``(ii) Proposed regulations.--
                        Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
                        section, the Administrator shall propose (not 
                        later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
                        of this subparagraph) and shall finalize (not 
                        later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
                        of this subparagraph) a national primary 
                        drinking water regulation for perchlorate--
                                    ``(I) that based on the factors in 
                                clause (i) and other relevant data, is 
                                protective, with an adequate margin of 
                                safety, of vulnerable persons 
                                (including pregnant women, infants, and 
                                children); and
                                    ``(II) the maximum contaminant 
                                level of which is as close to the 
                                maximum contaminant level goal for 
                                perchlorate, and as protective of 
                                vulnerable persons, as is feasible.''.
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