Cold War Contaminant Found In U.S. Drinking Water

Efforts are underway to fight a water pollutant from the Cold War has been found in drinking water across the country.

1 minute read

September 13, 2002, 6:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"The contaminant, perchlorate, has been used as an oxidizer in rockets, munitions and fireworks since the 1950s... [a] salt with similar characteristics to nitrate, perchlorate wasn't considered very dangerous to humans until a decade ago, when the Environmental Protection Agency warned that it was known to disrupt the functioning of the thyroid gland in people who consumed it. Over the years, defense facilities from Los Angeles to Cape Cod discharged huge amounts of perchlorate onto the ground, contaminating groundwater in many places where it was handled, EPA experts say."

Thanks to Kevin Doyle

Thursday, September 12, 2002 in Wall St. Journal

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