[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23435-23436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11383]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6005-8]


Announcement of Stakeholder Forum on Perchlorate in Water

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholder forum.

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SUMMARY: The Interagency Perchlorate Steering Committee (IPSC) will be 
holding a two and a half day stakeholder forum on May 19-21, 1998 in 
Henderson, Nevada. The IPSC, a working partnership of government 
agencies chartered to facilitate identification of the issues and 
coordinate the exchange of scientific information related to potential 
perchlorate contamination in the environment, includes representatives 
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of 
Defense (DoD), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
(ATSDR), National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), 
Native American Tribes, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, 
Nevada

[[Page 23436]]

Division of Environmental Protection, and California Department of 
Health Services. The purpose of this stakeholder forum is to 
disseminate information on the key scientific issues, to identify 
additional issues, and to hear stakeholder concerns. The IPSC is 
seeking input from State and Tribal drinking water programs, the 
regulated community (public water systems), public health 
organizations, academia, environmental and public interest groups, 
engineering firms, and the public on a number of issues related to 
perchlorate contamination in the environment. The IPSC encourages the 
full participation of stakeholders at the forum.

DATES: The forum will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 1998 from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5:30 p.m. PDT, Wednesday, May 20, 1998 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
PDT, with an additional public outreach evening session from 7:00 p.m. 
to 9:00 p.m. PDT, and Thursday, May 21, 1998 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 
p.m. PDT.

LOCATION: The Henderson Convention Center in Henderson, Nevada. To 
register, please contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-
426-4791 or 703-285-1093 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT. Those 
registered by May 13, 1998, will receive a draft agenda, logistics 
information, and discussion papers prior to the forum. Members of the 
public who cannot attend in person may participate via conference call 
and should also register with the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline by 
May 13, 1998. When registering, please indicate it is for the 
``Perchlorate Forum'' and provide your name, organization, title, 
mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail 
address. Conference lines will be allocated on the basis of first-
reserved, first served.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on forum 
logistics, please contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-
426-4791.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Perchlorate is used as an oxidizer component in solid propellant 
(fuel) for rockets, missiles, and fireworks. It is very soluble in 
water, mobile in aqueous systems and can persist for many decades under 
typical ground water and surface water conditions. Recent (April 1997) 
advances in the analytical detection capability for low concentrations 
of perchlorate, from 400 to 4 parts per billion (ppb), have led to the 
discovery of the chemical at various manufacturing sites and some 
drinking water supply wells of communities in California, Nevada, and 
Utah. Perchlorate has been found in ground water at six Superfund 
hazardous waste sites in California, at six other California non-
Superfund waste sites, two sites in the Henderson, Nevada area, one 
site in Utah, and in the discharge to a creek in Texas. Water suppliers 
in both northern and southern California, and the Las Vegas Water 
Authority have found perchlorate in their water supplies generally at 
levels less than 18 ppb but ranging as high as 280 ppb, with several in 
the 100-200 ppb range. Perchlorate has also been detected at low levels 
(5 to 9 ppb) in the Colorado River.
    Concerns have been raised about perchlorate because of the lack of 
adequate scientific information about the contaminant, including: where 
the contamination occurs, what reliable methods exist to detect it in 
various media, what the potential health effects are, and what 
treatment technologies exist. Historically, potassium perchlorate was 
used therapeutically to treat hyperthyroidism in Graves' Disease 
patients because it inhibits iodine uptake and thereby reduces thyroid 
hormone production. Thyroid hormone deficiencies can affect normal 
metabolism, growth, and development.
    Currently, perchlorate does not have a National Primary Drinking 
Water Regulation (NPDWR) or Health Advisory (HA) established. Under the 
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, EPA is required to 
develop a list of contaminants, known as the Contaminant Candidate List 
(CCL), that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems 
and may require regulation under SDWA [section 1412(b)(1)]. As a result 
of public comment on a draft of the CCL published on October 6, 1998 
(62 FR 52193), perchlorate was added to the final CCL that was 
published on March 2, 1998 (63 FR 10274). At this time, additional 
research on health effects, effective treatment technologies, 
analytical methods, and occurrence is necessary before a determination 
can be made of whether to regulate perchlorate with an NPDWR or to 
develop guidance.

B. Request for Public Involvement

    The IPSC is encouraging development of a sound research and 
management strategy by the involved government agencies through 
facilitating identification of the issues concerning perchlorate 
contamination and by coordinating information exchange to ensure the 
incorporation of the best available science and stakeholder input on 
technical and policy issues.
    The stakeholder forum will cover a broad range of topics including: 
(1) Key exposure characterization issues (occurrence and sites of known 
contamination, transport and transformation, analytical methods); (2) 
perchlorate health risk assessment (health effects and toxicology 
studies, the peer review process); (3) key technical assessments 
(treatment technologies, waste stream handling); (4) ecological 
impacts; (5) regulatory and policy issues and; (6) future stakeholder 
involvement. Background materials on perchlorate issues will be sent in 
advance of the forum to those who register with the EPA Safe Drinking 
Water Hotline by May 13, 1998.
    The IPSC has announced this forum to hear the views of stakeholders 
on actions that the agencies represented by the IPSC are taking or are 
planning to take to address perchlorate contamination. The public is 
invited to participate fully during the May 19-21, 1998 forum and 
during future opportunities for stakeholder participation.

    Dated: April 24, 1998.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Environmental 
Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 98-11383 Filed 4-28-98; 8:45 am]
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