Jan. 9 Policy Watch: EPA moves to regulate perchlorate, 5 phthalates

EPA proposes limits on perchlorate in drinking waterThe Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed a rule that would limit the level of perchlorate in drinking water to 20 ppb, the latest development in a 15-year legal battle over the chemical, which is largely used to make explosives such as rockets and fireworks.In 2016 the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sued the EPA for failing to implement limits on perchlorate that the agency had first proposed in 2011. In 2023 the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit told the EPA that it must regulate perchlorate (PDF). The new rule is a result of that decision.Perchlorate disrupts thyroid hormone production, which can be especially dangerous for fetal brain development, according to a 2018 technical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.“Perchlorate is not safe and EPA should choose the lowest level,” the organization tells C&EN in an email.In the proposed rule, the EPA says, “The benefits of this regulation would not justify the costs.” Regulation would cost about $16 million annually, compared with about $8 million in benefits, the rule states.In a Jan. 5 statement, NRDC senior strategic director for health Erik D. Olson calls the proposed standard “weak,” noting that the EPA initially recommended a limit of 1 ppb. In Massachusetts, the limit is 2 ppb.Even those low levels may have health effects, though, says Ramji Bhandari, a University of Missouri cell biologist who studies the health effects of chemical exposures.For example, fish in water dosed with