S 78
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 78
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health
of pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children by requiring a health
advisory and drinking water standard for perchlorate.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011
Mrs. BOXER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health
of pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children by requiring a health
advisory and drinking water standard for perchlorate.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Protecting Pregnant Women and Children
From Perchlorate Act of 2011'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings- Congress finds that--
(A) is a chemical used as the primary ingredient of solid rocket
propellant; and
(B) is also used in fireworks, road flares, and other applications;
(2) waste from the manufacture and improper disposal of chemicals
containing perchlorate is increasingly being discovered in soil and
water;
(3) according to the Government Accountability Office, perchlorate
contamination has been detected in water and soil at almost 400 sites
in the United States, with concentration levels ranging from 4 parts
per billion to millions of parts per billion;
(4) the Government Accountability Office has determined that the Environmental
Protection Agency does not centrally track or monitor perchlorate
detections or the status of perchlorate cleanup, so a greater number
of contaminated sites may already exist;
(5) according to the Government Accountability Office, limited Environmental
Protection Agency data show that perchlorate has been found in 35
States and the District of Columbia and is known to have contaminated
153 public water systems in 26 States;
(6) those data are likely underestimates of total drinking water exposure,
as illustrated by the finding of the California Department of Health
Services that perchlorate contamination sites have affected approximately
273 drinking water sources and 86 drinking water systems in the State
of California alone;
(7) Food and Drug Administration scientists and other scientific researchers
have detected perchlorate in the United States food supply, including
in lettuce, milk, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, wheat,
and spinach, and in human breast milk;
(8)(A) perchlorate can harm human health, especially in pregnant women
and children, by interfering with uptake of iodide by the thyroid
gland, which is necessary to produce important hormones that help
control human health and development;
(B) in adults, the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism;
(C) in children, the thyroid helps to ensure proper mental and physical
development; and
(D) impairment of thyroid function in expectant mothers or infants
may result in effects including delayed development and decreased
learning capability;
(9)(A) in October 2006, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention published the largest, most comprehensive study to
date on the effects of low levels of perchlorate exposure in women,
finding that--
(i) significant changes existed in thyroid hormones in women with
low iodine levels who were exposed to perchlorate; and
(ii) even low-level perchlorate exposure may affect the production
of hormones by the thyroid in iodine-deficient women; and
(B) in the United States, about 36 percent of women have iodine levels
equivalent to or below the levels of the women in the study described
in subparagraph (A); and
(10) the Environmental Protection Agency has not established a health
advisory or national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate,
but instead established a `Drinking Water Equivalent Level' of 24.5
parts per billion for perchlorate, which--
(A) does not take into consideration all routes of exposure to perchlorate;
(B) has been criticized by experts as failing to sufficiently consider
the body weight, unique exposure, and vulnerabilities of certain
pregnant women and fetuses, infants, and children; and
(C) is based primarily on a small study and does not take into account
new, larger studies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
or other data indicating potential effects at lower perchlorate
levels than previously found.
(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
to establish, by not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, a health advisory for perchlorate in drinking water that--
(A) is fully protective of, and considers, the body weight and exposure
patterns of pregnant women, infants, and children;
(B) provides an adequate margin of safety; and
(C) takes into account all routes of exposure to perchlorate;
(2) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
to establish not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act a national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate
that fully protects pregnant women, infants, and children, taking
into consideration body weight, exposure patterns, and all routes
of exposure to perchlorate.
SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATION
FOR PERCHLORATE.
Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1(b)(12))
is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(i) HEALTH ADVISORY- Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this subparagraph, the Administrator shall publish a health advisory
for perchlorate that is fully protective, with an adequate margin
of safety, of the health of vulnerable persons (including pregnant
women, infants, and children), taking into consideration body
weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of exposure.
`(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision
of this section, the Administrator shall propose (not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this subparagraph) and
shall finalize (not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this subparagraph) a national primary drinking water regulation
for perchlorate--
`(I) that based on the factors in clause (i) and other relevant
data, is protective, with an adequate margin of safety, of vulnerable
persons (including pregnant women, infants, and children); and
`(II) the maximum contaminant level of which is as close to
the maximum contaminant level goal for perchlorate, and as protective
of vulnerable persons, as is feasible.'.
END
