Perchlorate Links

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EPA has established an official reference dose (RfD) of 0.0007 milograms per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg/day) of perchlorate. This level is consistent with the recommended reference dose included in the National Academy of Science’s January 2005 report. A reference dose is a scientific estimate of a daily exposure level that is not expected to cause adverse health effects in humans. Risk information about perchlorate and perchlorate salt.

Key Perchlorate Documents

Policies and Guidance
  EPA Documents
  DoD Documents
Perchlorate Occurrences
  EPA Documents
  DoD Documents
Perchlorate Analytical Detection Methods
National Academy of Sciences' Review
EPA Perchlorate Resources
Site-specific Perchlorate Information
Other Federal Agency Resources
Additional Information Resources
State Perchlorate Advisory Levels and Other Resources

This is not a comprehensive list of documents available on this topic. For a full list of all relevant documents, please visit our library.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.

Policy and Guidance

EPA Documents

January 8, 2009 Revised Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate Memorandum (PDF) (2 pp, 650K) - In January 2006, OSWER issued guidance regarding perchlorate and the cleanup of sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The January 8, 2009 Revised Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate Memorandum formally withdraws that guidance. In addition, because EPA also issued an Interim Drinking Water Health Advisory (Interim Health Advisory) for exposure to perchlorate on January 8, 2009, the Revised Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate Memorandum indicates that where no federal or state applicable or relevant and appropriate (ARAR) requirement exists under federal or state law, that the Interim Health Advisory of 15 ug/L (or 15 ppb) is recommended as the preliminary remediation goal (PRG) for perchlorate when making CERCLA site-specific cleanup decisions where there is an actual or potential drinking water exposure pathway.
EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's (OSWER's) Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate (PDF, 3 pages, 443KB) - January 26, 2006. [note: this policy supersedes the January 2003 policy below]
EPA OSWER's Perchlorate Questions and Answers Document - March 31, 2003; this Questions & Answers document serves to clarify the January 22, 2003 Status of EPA's Interim Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate issued by OSWER. [note: this policy has been superseded by the January 2006 policy above]
EPA OSWER's Status of EPA's Interim Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate - January 22, 2003. [note: this policy has been superseded by the January 2006 policy above]
EPA Office of Research and Development's Interim Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate (PDF, 4 pages, 224KB) - June 18, 1999.

Department of Defense (DoD) Documents

Policy on DoD Required Actions Related to Perchlorate (PDF, 3 pages, 33KB) - January, 26, 2006. This guidance supercedes the September 29, 2003 DoD 'Interim Policy on Perchlorate Sampling' document
DoD, California Perchlorate Sampling Prioritization Protocol
- Press Release: DoD, California Perchlorate Sampling Prioritization Protocol Reached - October 1, 2004.
- Cover letter for prioritization protocol for perchlorate impacts to drinking water from DoD facilities in California (PDF, 2 pages, 309KB) developed by the California Perchlorate Working Group (CA-PWG) - September 23, 2004.
- Prioritization Protocol for Perchlorate Impacts to Drinking Water from DoD Facilities in California (PDF, 8 pages, 115KB) - August 2004.
- Elaboration on the Prioritization Protocol for Perchlorate Impacts (PDF, 8 pages, 32KB)
- DoD/Cal-EPA Perchlorate Workshop Action Plan for Follow-up Activity (PDF, 2 pages, 21KB)
- Questions and Answers about the California Perchlorate Prioritization Protocol
Department of the Army Guidance for Assessing Potential Perchlorate Contamination (PDF, 25 pages, 1MB) - June 11, 2004; this policy supersedes the June 27, 2003 Department of the Army Guidance for Assessing Potential Perchlorate Contamination (PDF, 9 pages, 1MB). The purpose of this guidance is to provide the Army with a consistent framework for addressing potential perchlorate contamination resulting from ongoing activities as well as past practices.
Navy Perchlorate Sampling Policy - December 5, 2003 (PDF, 4 pages, 532KB): Detailed instruction for perchlorate sampling, analysis and data capture at Navy installations.
DoD's Interim Perchlorate Sampling Policy (PDF, 7 pages, 1MB) - September 29, 2003; this policy supercedes the DoD November 13, 2002 memorandum: DoD Perchlorate Assessment Policy (PDF, 1 page, 54 KB) - November 13, 2002.

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Perchlorate Occurrences

EPA Documents

Known Perchlorate Releases in the U.S. (PDF, 7 pages, 71KB) (XLS) - March 25, 2005.
Known Perchlorate Releases in the U.S. (PDF, 6 pages, 108KB) (XLS) - September 23, 2004.
Transmittal of Perchlorate Maps and Table - Updated April, 2003.
- Map of Known Perchlorate Manufacturers/Users as of April 2003.
- List of Known Perchlorate Manufactures/Users (XLS) as of April 2003.
- Map of Reported Perchlorate Releases to the Environment (PDF, 1 page, 356KB) as of April 2003.
- Occurrence and Potential Sources of Perchlorate Releases to the Environment (PDF, 6 pages, 48KB) as of April 2003.
February 5, 2004 letter from U.S. Representatives John Dingell (MI) and Hilda Solis (CA) requesting information on perchlorate and other munition constituents contamination at DoD facilities.
- EPA's interim response (PDF, 6 pages, 493KB) to February 5, 2004, letter from U.S. Representatives Dingell and Solis - February 6, 2004.
- EPA's 2nd response letter (PDF, 2 pages, 251KB) and enclosures (PDF, 19 pages, 793KB) pertaining to perchlorate contamination at DoD facilities per the February 5, 2004, request from U.S. Representatives Dingell and Solis - April 20, 2004.
- EPA's 3rd letter and enclosures (PDF, 35 pages, 3.64MB) pertaining to munitions constituents contamination at DoD facilities per the February 5, 2004, request from U.S. Representatives Dingell and Solis - June 18, 2004.
Transmittal of primary sources of EPA Perchlorate Manufacturers and Users Data (PDF, 1 pages, 1.7MB) - September 23, 2004.
- Region 9 Nationwide Occurrence of Perchlorate Contamination Memo (PDF, 2 pages, 3.7MB) - May 11, 1998.
- Kerr McGee Chemical LLC response to 104(e) request (PDF, 13 pages, 21MB) - April 17, 1998.
- American Pacific Corporation response to 104(e) request (PDF, 12 pages, 19MB) - April 14, 1998.
- Primary Domestic Ammonium Perchlorate (AP) Users for Propulsion Applications (Air Force) (PDF, 3 pages, 5MB) - January 1998.
- Potential Applications for AP Biodegradation (PDF, 2 pages, 3.71MB) - April 30, 1997.
- From EPA Superfund project file: Aerojet, CA - Aerojet-General v. PEPCON (PDF, 2 pages, 3.29MB) - August 17, 1990.
- Kerr McGee Chemical LLC supplemental response (PDF, 6 pages, 8.7MB) - March 7, 2001.
- Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) response to EPA information request (PDF, 8 pages, 13MB) - January 29, 2002.
- Air Force sites known to have used and/or stored ammonium perchlorate (PDF, 4 pages, 5.6MB) - July 24, 1998.
- Army and Navy sites known to have used and/or stored ammonium perchlorate (PDF, 6 pages, 9MB) - October 8, 1998.

Department of Defense (DoD) Documents

DoD Report on Perchlorate Occurrence at Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Properties (PDF, 7 pages, 253KB) - July 7, 2004.
- Senator Feinstein's Response to DoD Report on Perchlorate Occurrence at BRAC Properties (PDF, 3 pages, 10KB) - July 23, 2004.
Response Letters from Acting Assistant Under Secretary Michael W. Wynne to Senators Feinstein, Boxer and Reid (PDF, 3 pages, 123KB) - October 7, 2003 and;
Response letters to U.S. Representatives Dingell and Solis. (PDF, 6 pages, 333KB) - October 6, 2003.
- Enclosures (DoD's Perchlorate Sampling Since 2001 (PDF, 5 pages, 460KB) and NPL Facility Sampling (PDF, 7 pages, 696KB))
Response letter from J.P. Woodley, Assistant Under Secretary of Defense (Environment), to Senators Boxer, Feinstein and Reid with attachment of results of DoD's 2001 Perchlorate Survey - May 30, 2003.

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Perchlorate Analytical Detection Methods

Analytical Methods Developed by EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) - provides a link to EPA methods for detecting perchlorate in drinking water.
Recently Developed Methods from EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) - provides a link to newly developed method(s) for perchlorate detection.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE's) Field Screening Method for Perchlorate in Water and Soil (PDF, 36 pages, 165KB)

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National Academy of Sciences' (NAS') Review

NAS Report in Brief of the findings in the Health Implications of Perchlorate Ingestions Report (PDF, 4 pages, 611KB) - March 2005.
NAS technical review of the Health Implications of Perchlorate Ingestion - January 2005.
EPA's letter to NAS requesting review (PDF, 5 pages, 172KB) - March 19, 2003; EPA, in conjunction with the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), requests a review by NAS of the science about the health impacts of perchlorate.
EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment's (NCEA's) NAS Review.
NAS Research Council's Perchlorate Study Project.

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EPA Perchlorate Resources

EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).
EPA's Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water's (OGWDW's) Perchlorate area.
EPA's OGWDW's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Data area.
EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment's The Effects of Ammonium Perchlorate on Thyroids Pathology Working Group Report - May 5, 2002.
CLU-IN - This Web site provides information about innovative treatment and site characterization technologies to the hazardous waste remediation community.
Technology Innovation Field Services Division's Contaminant Focus on Perchlorate.
Federal Facilities Forum Perchlorate Treatment Technology Update (PDF, 80 pages, 686KB) - This issue paper provides information about technologies available for treatment of perchlorate contamination in environmental media, including technologies that have been used to date and others that show potential for treating such contamination.
Federal Facilities Forum Perchlorate Treatment Technology Update Errata Sheet (PDF, 4 pages, 105KB) - This errata sheet identifies corrections to information provided in U.S. EPA Perchlorate Treatment Technology: Update (May 2005).

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Site-specific Perchlorate Information

Perchlorate Site Summaries - These summaries provide information on federal facility and private Superfund sites that have perchlorate contamination and the actions that are being taken to address that contamination.
July 2004 fact sheet and annotated aerial photograph (PDF, 3 pages, 242KB) summarizing the perchlorate control strategy at the Kerr McGee Chemical Company site in Henderson, Nevada.
8th Comprehensive Perchlorate Monitoring Report (PDF, 29 pages, 4.3MB) for the Tronox (formerly Kerr McGee) plant located in Henderson, Nevada – February 2006.

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Other Federal Agency Resources

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

GAO Report - Perchlorate: A System to Track Sampling and Cleanup Results is Needed (PDF, 79 pages, 2.21MB) - Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives - May 2005.
DoD comments on GAO perchlorate report (PDF, 14 pages, 180KB) - DoD's response to the GAO draft report, Perchlorate: A System to Track Sampling and Cleanup Results is Needed - April 26, 2005.
EPA comments on GAO perchlorate report (PDF, 8 pages, 476KB) - EPA's response to the GAO draft report, Perchlorate: A System to Track Sampling and Cleanup Results is Needed - April 26, 2005.
GAO Report to Congressional Requestors on Department of Defense (DoD) Operational Ranges (PDF, 54 pages, 6MB) - May 2004; This report specifically addresses DoD's perchlorate sampling activities and provides recommendations.

Department of Defense (DoD)

DoD Perchlorate Workgroup - The official DoD source for perchlorate information.
Defense Environmental Network & Information Exchange (DENIX) - A comprehensive resource for defense installations and environmental communities perchlorate information.
DoD Environmental Data Quality Workgroup and the Intergovernmental Data Quality Task Force (IDQTF) Perchlorate Testing Roundtable - October 23, 2003.
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) - DoD's corporate environmental research and development (R&D) program, planned and executed in full partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA.
Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) - A corporate DoD program that promotes innovative, cost-effective environmental technologies through demonstration and validation at DoD sites.

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

The Bosque and Leon Rivers Watershed's Final Report (PDF, 2 pages, 138.6KB) assesses the impact of perchlorate associated with the former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at McGregor, Texas - February 2004.

United States Department of Health and Human Services

Health Effects Assessment for Environmental Perchlorate Contamination: The Dose Response for Inhibition of Thyroidal Radioiodine Uptake in Humans.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)

Health Consultation: Perchlorate Contamination in the Citizens Utilities' Suburban and Security Park Water Service Areas prepared by the California Department of Health Services.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Perchlorate Questions and Answers - Commonly asked questions, provided by the USDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Updated November 2004.
FDA Exploratory Data on Perchlorate in Food - November 2004.

Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable

The Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable works to build a collaborative atmosphere among federal agencies involved in hazardous waste site cleanup, such as perchlorate.

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