[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 1 (Thursday, January 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S140-S141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Lautenberg):
  S. 150. 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; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that 
would order EPA to promptly establish a health advisory and then a 
drinking water standard for perchlorate. I am pleased that the Senior 
Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, and the Senior Senator from 
New Jersey, Mr. Lautenberg, have joined as original cosponsors of this 
measure.
  This legislation will require the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) to establish a standard for perchlorate contamination in 
drinking water supplies by December 31, 2007. EPA still has not 
committed to establishing a tap water standard for this widespread 
contaminant, decades after learning that perchlorate is a problem in 
our drinking water.
  Perchlorate is a clear and present danger to California's and much of 
America's health. We cannot wait any longer to address this threat. EPA 
needs to get moving and protect our drinking water now.
  Drinking water sources for more than 20 million Americans are 
contaminated with perchlorate. Perchlorate is the main ingredient in 
rocket fuel, which accounts for 90 percent of its use. Perchlorate is 
also used for ammunition, fireworks, highway safety flares, air bags, 
and fertilizers. It dissolves readily in many liquids, including water, 
and moves easily and quickly through the ground.
  Perchlorate was first discovered in drinking water in 1957, and at 
the latest in the mid-1980s, EPA was aware that perchlorate 
contaminates drinking water. Since 1997, when California developed a 
new, more sensitive testing method that can detect perchlorate down to 
4 parts per billion, perchlorate has been found in soil, groundwater, 
and surface water throughout the U.S.
  According to a May 2005 report from the Government Accountability 
Office, perchlorate contamination has been detected in water and soil 
at almost 400 sites in the U.S., with levels ranging from 4 parts per 
billion to millions of parts per billion.
  GAO also said that limited EPA data show that perchlorate has 
polluted 35 States and the District of Columbia, and is known to have 
contaminated 153 public water systems in 26 States. Those data likely 
underestimate total exposure, as illustrated by the finding

[[Page S141]]

of the California Department of Health Services that perchlorate 
contamination has affected at least 276 drinking water wells sources 
and 77 drinking water systems in California alone.
  The Food and Drug Administration 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.
  Perchlorate can harm human health, especially in pregnant women and 
children, by interfering with thyroid gland, which is needed to produce 
important hormones that help control human health and development. The 
thyroid helps to ensure children's proper mental and physical 
development, in addition to helping to control metabolism. Thyroid 
problems in expectant mothers or infants can affect babies, and result 
in delayed development and decreased learning capability.
  The largest and most comprehensive study to date on the effects of 
low levels of perchlorate exposure in women was recently published by 
researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
CDC found that there were significant changes in thyroid hormones in 
women with low iodine levels who were exposed to perchlorate. The CDC 
researchers also found that even small increases in low-level 
perchlorate exposure may affect the thyroid's production of hormones in 
iodine deficient women. About 36 percent of women in the U.S. have 
iodine levels equal to or below those of the women in the study.
  EPA has not established a health advisory or national primary 
drinking water regulation for perchlorate. Instead, the agency has 
established a ``Drinking Water Equivalent Level'' (DWEL) of 24.5 parts 
per billion for this toxin. The agency's DWEL does not take into 
consideration all routes of exposure to perchlorate, and has been 
criticized by experts for failing to sufficiently consider the body 
weight, unique exposure, and vulnerabilities of certain pregnant women 
and fetuses, infants, and children. It is based primarily upon a small 
human study by Greer et al., which tested a small number of adults. The 
DWEL also does not take into account the new much larger studies from 
CDC, and other data indicating potential effects at lower perchlorate 
levels than previously found.
  Alarming levels of perchlorate have been discovered in Lake Mead and 
the Colorado River, the drinking water source for millions of Southern 
Californians. Communities in the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, 
Santa Clara Valley, and the Sacramento area are also grappling with 
perchlorate contamination.
  My bill will ensure that EPA acts swiftly to address this threat to 
our health and welfare. I look forward to working with my colleagues to 
pass this important piece of legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of my bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 150

       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 2007''.

     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;
       (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 276 drinking 
     water sources and 77 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 fully protects 
     pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children, taking into 
     consideration body weight and exposure patterns and all 
     routes of exposure to perchlorate; and
       (2) to require the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency to establish promptly a national primary 
     drinking water regulation for perchlorate that fully protects 
     pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children, taking into 
     consideration body weight and 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) Schedule, health advisory, and standard.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the 
     Administrator shall publish a health advisory and promulgate 
     a national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate, 
     in accordance with the schedule and provisions established by 
     this subparagraph, that fully protect, with an adequate 
     margin of safety, the health of vulnerable persons (including 
     pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children), taking into 
     consideration body weight, exposure patterns, and all routes 
     of exposure.
       ``(ii) Health advisory.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Administrator 
     shall publish a health advisory for perchlorate in accordance 
     with clause (i).
       ``(iii) Proposed regulations.--Not later than August 1, 
     2007, the Administrator shall propose a national primary 
     drinking water regulation for perchlorate in accordance with 
     clause (i).
       ``(iv) Final regulations.--Not later than December 31, 
     2007, after providing notice and an opportunity for public 
     comment, the Administrator shall promulgate a national 
     primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate in 
     accordance with clause (i).''.
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