Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for holding this markup. This is a very important issue and it is one I am pleased we are addressing.

Perchlorate is found in the drinking water supplies of over 20 million Americans and particularly threatens pregnant women, infants and children. It’s used to create rocket fuel, ammunition and other items.  It can move through soil, into water, and concentrate in food.

In 2005, GAO found 395 sites in 35 states with perchlorate levels above 4 parts per billion, including 106 sites in California.With limited data, EPA knows of 153 drinking water systems in 26 states with perchlorate contamination.  California knows of 276 active or standby water wells are contaminated with perchlorate. Yet EPA has dragged its feet and refused to set a standard for safe perchlorate levels in drinking water.

It’s critical for EPA to set a standard in light of a study by the CDC which shows that women in the U.S. regularly consume sufficient amounts of perchlorate to reduce their production of important thyroid hormones.This exposure can harm the health of adults and the mental development of infants. The CDC study shows that the perchlorate exposures that EPA thought were safe, can threaten public health.

As we know, in January 2006 EPA issued guidance that recommended a cleanup goal at toxic waste sites of 24.5 parts per billion.Two months later EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee wrote to EPA saying that this goal was “not protective of children’s health.” The Committee found that this goal allows infant exposures that are “approximately 5 to 10 times higher” than the safety level.

Mr. Chairman, it’s clear that more protective standards are necessary. Given the serious health threat posed by widespread perchlorate exposure, EPA must establish a drinking water standard that protects the public, especially vulnerable pregnant women and children. We cannot wait any longer to address this threat. 

This legislation will help us accomplish this important goal, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman for holding this markup. I yield back.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.