Perchlorate In WaterRemoving It With An Effective Drinking Water SystemThe perchlorate in water can be both naturally occurring and man-made. Perchlorates are the salts derived from perchloric acid. It was used in medicines made for overactive thyroid. It is most frequently used to manufacture fertilizer, fireworks, explosives, flares and rocket fuel. The military, NASA and the commercial space industry are major users of this substance.Source of Contamination: Industries that use perchlorates could discharge waste that seeps into the ground water. Also, runoff from fertilizer that contains perchlorate could get into the water supply. Drinking Water Standard: For some contaminants, the EPA is mandated by Congress under the Safe Drinking Water Act to determine the maximum contaminant level (mcl). The mcl is the maximum amount of a particular contaminant that can exist in the water supply. Water authorities nationwide must routinely screen for contaminants that have mcls because they are thought to be more harmful than other contaminants. If a contaminants exist in the water supply at or above the mcl, that water is considered harmful to public health. Upon discovery of the contamination, water authorities nationwide are legally bound to take steps the reduce the contamination to pre-mcl levels. They must also notify customers within 30 days of the discovery of the contamination. If a contaminant exist in drinking water at a level below the mcl, the EPA does not consider that particular contaminant harmful or the health effects are unknown. At this time, there is no mcl set for the perchlorate in water. Hence, the EPA does not require nationwide monitoring of this substance. Consultations are being done and perhaps a mcl will set. Some contaminants that don't yet have mcls are a part of the EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring (UCM) Program. This program was set up for collecting data on contaminants suspected of being present in drinking water but do not yet have health-based standards set. Perchlorate is listed under the program. Every five years, the EPA reviews reviews that list of contaminants in that program and eventually decides which to regulate. Some water authorities monitored perchlorate under the UCM. There are also public water systems that have on-going monitoring programs for perchlorate. California and Massachusetts have issued mcls for perchlorate of 6 µg/L (micrograms/liter) and 2 µg/L, respectively. In February 2005, the U.S. EPA established its official reference dose of perchlorate at 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram per day. They calculated that dosage to be a drinking water equivalent level of 24.5 µg/L per day. At this dosage, the EPA expects that the population at large can safely consume the perchlorate in water.
By July 1st every year, you should receive a water report from your supplier detailing the source of the water and what is in the water. You can also get the drinking quality water report online for the area you reside. Alternatively, you could call your water provider for any additional information. If perchlorate monitoring is not required by your state, you could have your tap water independently by a state certified water tester. Health Effects: Based on current scientific evidence, a person would have to ingest high amounts perchlorate over an extended period of time for it to cause any adverse health effects. Doing so could cause thyroid hormones to drop resulting in adverse health effects related to the thyroid. Home Water Treatment: Municipal water purification is responsible for removing the perchlorate in drinking water. But over the last number of years, there have been many frightening reports about various contaminants that are in tap water. According to the Environment Working Group, perchlorate contaminates the drinking water supplies of over 20 million Americans. Therefore, you need to be proactive and give your family extra protection against perchlorates that still remain in your tap water. The best way to do this is to acquire a drinking water system that can remove perchlorates. After all, not all drinking water systems are capable of removing this substance from your home water supply. A quality reverse osmosis drinking water system is capable of getting rid of the perchlorate in water from levels as high as 130 µg/L (micrograms/liter) to 4 µg/L. Leave Perchlorate In Water & Return To Chemicals In Water
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