[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 1 (Thursday, January 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S63-S64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. Feinstein, and Mr. Lautenberg):
  S. 24. A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require a 
health advisory and monitoring of drinking water for perchlorate; to 
the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am introducing a bill that would require 
that tap water be tested for perchlorate, and would ensure the public's 
right to know about perchlorate in their drinking water. 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 toxin is a clear and present danger to California's and much of 
America's health, and EPA needs to get moving and protect our drinking 
water now. But until a perchlorate tap water standard is set, something 
must be done.
  Therefore, my perchlorate monitoring and right to know bill will 
require that: EPA first swiftly set a health advisory for perchlorate 
that protects pregnant women, infants and children; second, that EPA 
order monitoring of drinking water for perchlorate until an enforceable 
standard is set; and, third, that the public be told about perchlorate 
and its health effects, if it is detected in their drinking water 
supply.
  Drinking water sources for more than 20 million Americans are 
contaminated with perchlorate. The Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) says that perchlorate contamination has been found 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. Perchlorate has polluted 
35 States and the District of Columbia, and is known to have 
contaminated 153 public water systems in 26 States.
  As we know, perchlorate can harm human health, especially that of 
pregnant women and children. Therefore, all citizens whose tap water 
system contains perchlorate have a right to know about that 
contamination, and about its potential health consequences. Only if 
their water is tested, and only if all systems are obligated to 
disclose the contamination and its health effects, will we be assured 
that the public is given the information that they deserve to protect 
themselves and their families.
  EPA's original 1999 rule for monitoring of tap water for unregulated 
contaminants ordered testing for perchlorate. Just last year, on August 
22, 2005, EPA proposed to extend the requirement that perchlorate be 
monitored in drinking water. However, on December 20, 2006, the 
Administrator reversed himself and signed a final rule removing 
perchlorate from the list of contaminants for which monitoring is 
required under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation. I was 
shocked by this action.
  As a result of this new rule, Americans will not be assured of up-to-
date information on whether their tap water is contaminated with this 
toxin. Until EPA sets a tap water standard for perchlorate, at the very 
least we should know if it's in our drinking water.
  My bill will ensure that EPA acts swiftly to require water systems to 
test for and to inform the public about this threat to our health and 
welfare. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this 
important 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:

[[Page S64]]

                                 S. 24

       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 ``Perchlorate Monitoring and 
     Right-to-Know Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (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);
       (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;
       (11) on August 22, 2005 (70 Fed. Reg. 49094), the 
     Administrator proposed to extend the requirement that 
     perchlorate be monitored in drinking water under the final 
     rule entitled ``Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation 
     (UCMR) for Public Water Systems Revisions'' promulgated 
     pursuant to section 1445(a)(2) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 300j-4(a)(2)); and
       (12) on December 20, 2006, the Administrator signed a final 
     rule removing perchlorate from the list of contaminants for 
     which monitoring is required under the final rule entitled 
     ``Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) for 
     Public Water Systems Revisions'' (72 Fed. Reg. 368 (January 
     4, 2007)).
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency--
       (1) to establish, not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, a health advisory that--
       (A) is fully protective of, and considers, the body weight 
     and exposure patterns of pregnant women, fetuses, newborns, 
     and children;
       (B) provides an adequate margin of safety; and
       (C) takes into account all routes of exposure to 
     perchlorate;
       (2) to promulgate, not later than 120 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, a final regulation requiring 
     monitoring for perchlorate in drinking water; and
       (3) to ensure the right of the public to know about 
     perchlorate in drinking water by requiring that consumer 
     confidence reports disclose the presence and potential health 
     effects of perchlorate in drinking water.

     SEC. 3. MONITORING AND HEALTH ADVISORY 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.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Administrator 
     shall publish a health advisory for perchlorate that fully 
     protects, with an adequate margin of safety, the health of 
     vulnerable persons (including pregnant women, fetuses, 
     newborns, and children), considering body weight and exposure 
     patterns and all routes of exposure.
       ``(ii) Monitoring regulations.--

       ``(I) In general.--The Administrator shall propose (not 
     later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
     subparagraph) and promulgate (not later than 120 days after 
     the date of enactment of this subparagraph) a final 
     regulation requiring--

       ``(aa) each public water system serving more than 10,000 
     individuals to monitor for perchlorate beginning not later 
     than October 31, 2007; and
       ``(bb) the collection of a representative sample of public 
     water systems serving 10,000 individuals or fewer to monitor 
     for perchlorate in accordance with section 1445(a)(2).

       ``(II) Duration.--The regulation shall be in effect unless 
     and until monitoring for perchlorate is required under a 
     national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate.

       ``(iii) Consumer confidence reports.--Each consumer 
     confidence report issued under section 1414(c)(4) shall 
     disclose the presence of any perchlorate in drinking water, 
     and the potential health risks of exposure to perchlorate in 
     drinking water, consistent with guidance issued by the 
     Administrator.''.
                                 ______