[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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