NRDC Sues EPA to Force It to Limit Perchlorate in Drinking Water

The Natural Resources Defense Council sued the Environmental Protection Agency in federal court in New York today to force it to set limits on perchlorate.  Perchlorate is a toxic chemical that has been detected in the drinking water systems that serve up to 16.6 million Americans.  Even at low levels, it can present serious health risks to children and pregnant women ... Perchlorate has been widely used by the military and defense industries.  It is commonly used in rocket fuel, fireworks and explosives.  It is highly soluble in water, and can move quickly into ground and surface water when it contaminates soil.  Five years ago — on February 11, 2011 — after reviewing 39,000 comments, the EPA acknowledged its duty to regulate perchlorate under the Safe Water Drinking Act ... That finding by EPA triggered two deadlines under the Safe Drinking Water Act:  EPA had 2 years to propose safeguards, and another 18 months to finalize them.  EPA has missed both deadlines.
Press Release
NRDC
February 18, 2016

NRDC v. EPA Complaint

Once EPA has determined to regulate a new chemical under the Act, it must issue a proposed regulation for that chemical “not later” than twenty-four months after making the determination to regulate, and must issue a final regulation within eighteen months thereafter ...  EPA had a mandatory duty to propose perchlorate regulations no later than February 11, 2013, and a mandatory duty to finalize those regulations no later than August 11, 2014.  EPA has neither proposed nor finalized any limits on perchlorate in drinking water.  These failures violate express statutory deadlines contained in the Safe Drinking Water Act and jeopardize human health.  NRDC therefore seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against EPA for failure to fulfill the agency’s nondiscretionary duties under the Act ...

Request for Relief (pg. 12) 

Perchlorate contamination in drinking water systems poses a threat to human health.  When ingested, perchlorate impairs the uptake of iodine into the thyroid gland, which disrupts thyroid hormone production.  Thyroid hormone is critical to many aspects of growth and metabolism.  Its role in brain development during pre-natal and post-natal growth is especially vital.  As a result, fetuses, infants, and young children are particularly vulnerable to perchlorate ingestion.  Scientific studies have linked decreased thyroid function in pregnant women, infants, and children to delayed development, reduced growth, and impaired learning capabilities.  Even small reductions in thyroid hormone levels can be associated with abnormal brain development and lower cognitive function in children.
NRDC v. EPA
U.S. District Court
February 18, 2016

Army Conducts Shelter-in-Place Alert System Test on Wednesday

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will soon be testing its “shelter-in-place” alert system before starting work to dig up the third and final portion of 4825 Glenbrook Road NW, where the Army anticipates a “high probability” of finding dangerous World War I-era chemical contamination.  During the war the Army operated a munitions testing station at American University, and buried leftover materials in the surrounding area.  Most of the contamination has been cleaned up in recent years for $250 million.  At 4825 Glenbrook in Spring Valley, where the Army tore down a house to conduct its investigation, workers are operating under a protective tent due to the level of contamination expected there ... 

As before, if toxic fumes escape from the tent, an alert system will contact neighbors asking them to shelter in place until further notice.  Re-training about the shelter-in-place program will be available for residents of seven nearby homes and users of American University’s Watkins Building ...  Excavation of the riskiest areas at 4825 Glenbrook is expected to last through late 2016 or early 2017, followed by investigation of “low-probability” spots where the Army doesn’t expect to find contamination.   The property will then be restored to residential standards in spring and summer 2017.
Northwest Current
January 27, 2016
 

Three CAFS units (left) were activated on February 3 (USACE)

This week concluded with all snow at the site either removed or melted, and any storm damage repairs completed. The on-site team continues with preparing the site for high probability operations to begin in about 2 weeks, sometime during the week of February 15th. The Chemical Agent Filtration System (CAFS) units, with all new filters, were activated on Wednesday so that they will be ready to perform for next week's smoke test ... Next week we will begin several days of refresher training, conduct the smoke test, and complete the installation and testing of the Shelter-in-Place system sirens.  We will be briefly testing the Shelter-in-Place sirens on Monday, Feb 8th throughout the day.  We will then perform a complete Shelter-in-Place alert system test, including the ring-down and email alerts, on Wednesday, Feb 10th at 4:05pm.
Weekly Update
4825 Glenbrook Road
February 5, 2016

Shelter-in-Place zone during Tent 3 work (pg. 41)