- When it comes to perchlorate, we need to act locally and nationally
South County residents owe a huge debt to Sylvia Hamilton and the rest of the Perchlorate Community Advisory Group, a committee of Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Martin residents advising the Regional Water Quality Control Board on cleanup of the perchlorate plume caused by Olin Corp. These dedicated neighbors spend untold hours reading reports, studying maps and charts and attending meetings to stay abreast of developments regarding the perchlorate plume snaking through South County’s groundwater.
- A speedy response for the most contaminated areas
As we approach the Dec. 7 date when the regional water quality control board is scheduled to issue a cleanup order for Olin, PCAG has expressed concerns, which we share:
First, the timeline for high-priority cleanup zones is too long. Instead of starting in two years, as currently proposed, that cleanup should begin immediately.
In addition, the threshold for becoming a high-priority zone – currently 24.5 parts per billion – needs to be lower.
Next, monitored attenuation is not an acceptable remediating. Heavily used private wells need to be fitted with ionic exchange systems like those installed by Morgan Hill on its municipal wells.
Finally, the order must set the background level of perchlorate at 1.4 ppb, currently the lowest concentration of perchlorate that testing can detect. The background level of perchlorate is the level to which Olin must return the groundwater, and the goal is that the background level be the level of perchlorate before the pollution occurred.
South Santa Clara County isn’t the only place that has perchlorate polluting its groundwater – it’s all over the country. That’s where that national perspective comes in.
- Perchlorate in our food makes it an issue that affects us all
Because perchlorate has entered the food chain – it’s been detected in milk and lettuce, for example – so it’s really everyone’s problem.
Because of that, it’s imperative that the EPA conduct comprehensive epidemiological studies to determine the long-term health effects of perchlorate.
The only real long-term solution to perchlorate here and across the country is political pressure for the EPA to stop ignoring the problem and start taking real action.
Now that we know that perchlorate affects all of us – even those of us who don’t live in areas with perchlorate-contaminated groundwater. Now we’re all eating food that’s been watered with perchlorate-tainted water.
With the help of people like Hamilton and PCAG, we’ve got the local angle well in hand. Let’s continue to give them our support.
But the we’ve got lots of work to do nationally. Let’s find ways to build the political pressure necessary to make real, long-term changes in EPA policy that will improve the perchlorate pollution that affects all of us.
ACT NOW
Roger Briggs, executive officer
California Regional Water Quality
Control Board
(805) 549-3140
rb*****@wa*********.gov
Central Coast Region
895 Aerovista Place, Ste. 101
San Luis Obispo, Calif., 93401-7906
