Please Sign This Letter: ROCKET FUEL POLLUTION IN NATION'S FOOD AND WATER

[Jcrowley]

A new analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control indicates that a toxic chemical in rocket fuel has severely contaminated the nation's food and water supply (read the Environmental Working Group study here).

Scientists warn that the chemical, known as perchlorate, could cause thyroid deficiency in more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age.

This thyroid deficiency could damage the fetus of pregnant women, if left untreated. Perchlorate, the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, has leaked from military bases and defense and aerospace contractors' plants in at least 22 states, contaminating drinking water for millions of Americans.

Despite massive complaints, defense contractors such as Kerr-McGee have done little or nothing to clean up the pollution. Perchlorate has also been widely detected in milk, lettuce, produce and other foods. In an alarming study, the CDC found perchlorate in the urine of every person tested. The OCA has mobilized thousands of organic consumers to pressure the EPA and government officials to begin a massive clean up of perchlorate for over a year.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/perchlorate.htm

Please sign the letter at above link

[rodeodance]

1. R and K

[Eric J in MN]

2. done NT

NT

[silverweb]

3. Feinstein's my senator!

And I know my other senator, Barbara Boxer, is on board with this.

So rather than asking for support, I changed the letter to a thank you note.

:)

[leftchick]

4. k&r

thank you!

[Karenina]

5. If this thread drops

before it has 300 kicks

I'M GONNA FUCKING SCREAM!!!!!!

:kick: DAMMIT!!!

[Jcrowley]

6. Water is fairly important

Question: What exactly is perchlorate?

Answer: Perchlorate is an oxidizing anion that originates as a contaminant in ground and surface waters from the dissolution of ammonium, potassium, magnesium, or sodium salts. Perchlorate is exceedingly mobile in aqueous systems and can persist for many decades under typical ground and surface water conditions. Ammonium perchlorate is manufactured for use as the oxidizer component and primary ingredient in solid propellant for rockets, missiles, and fireworks. Because it is a reducing agent, it can undergo a variety of intramolecular redox reactions that lead to the release of gaseous products. Through such reactions, it acts as a thrust booster. Perchlorate salts are also used on a large scale as a component of air bag inflators. Perchlorate salts are also used in nuclear reactors and electronic tubes, as additives in lubricating oils, in tanning and finishing leather, as a mordant for fabrics and dyes, in electroplating, in aluminum refining, and in rubber manufacture, as a mordant for fabrics and dyes, and in the production of paints and enamels. Chemical fertilizer had been reported to be a potential source of perchlorate contamination, but new investigations by the EPA have determined that this is not an issue for agricultural applications. Large-scale production of perchlorate-containing chemicals in the United States began in the mid-1940s. Because of its shelf life, perchlorate must be washed out of the United States’ missile and rocket inventory to be replaced with a fresh supply. Thus, large volumes have been disposed of in various states since the 1950s.

I've always wondered about this silent thyroid "epidemic" around the country. I'm sure there are multiple culprits, I've heard radioactivity is also a causal agent. Perchlorate is one of those ubiquitous items and one of the real "baddies."

[MelissaB]

7. Done! I"m #7. That means 293 to go.

:kick:

[Useless in FL]

8. Done and KICK!

[Karenina]

12. Hoping folks here can MULTI-TASK

:kick:

[mom cat]

9. Thanks for this post. K&R and letter signed.

[Jcrowley]

10. 21st CENTURY TIMELINE OF U.S. ROCKET FUEL POLLUTION SCANDAL

21st CENTURY TIMELINE OF U.S. ROCKET FUEL POLLUTION SCANDAL
• 2002: EPA releases draft report highlighting widespread water contamination of a toxic rocket fuel byproduct known as perchlorate. The report indicates that most of the pollution is coming from U.S. military sites.
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlorate/perchlorate.html

• January 2003 : Courtroom proceedings reveal that aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin was concealing documents for several years indicating the company knew about toxic levels of percholate contamination in the nation's vegetable produce.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/030503_toxic_lettuce.cfm

[Karenina]

11. ...

...

[Karenina]

13. Please repost this later in the week

would you? It can't survive today's whirlwind...

[gypsy11]

14. Kick

and done.