Since the discovery of perchlorate contamination in a number of California groundwaters in
1997, it has been detected in many other locations across the country. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) estimates that groundwaters in 40 states have the
potential to be contaminated with perchlorate, and actual drinking water contamination with this
chemical has been documented in approximately half of them. Perchlorate (ClO4
-) appears to be
linked to the historical manufacturing, usage, or processing of ammonium perchlorate
(NH4ClO4), a solid rocket fuel. In March 1998, the USEPA formally added perchlorate to the
drinking water contaminant candidate list (CCL). Its monitoring in drinking water supplies was
mandated in 1999 under the Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule (UCMR). The primary
concerns over perchlorate toxicity include its known adverse effect on the thyroid gland, as well
as possible carcinogenic, developmental, reproductive, and immunotoxic effects.
As a collaborative effort between MWH and the University of Houston, the two primary
objectives of this on-going research are to:
demonstrate the long-term performance of conventional ion-exchange technology for
perchlorate removal; and,
evaluate three disparate alternatives (chemical, biological, electrolytic) for brine treatment
and reuse.
While addressing these objectives, the underlying requirement of the pilot-scale system is to
ensure that the treated water perchlorate concentration remains below the recently lowered
California Department of Public Health Services perchlorate Advisory Action Level of 4 ug/L. Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 680 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 8 |
| Published : | 06/15/2003 |
