Study Raises Doubts On Health Basis For EPA's Proposed Perchlorate Rule

摘要

A recent study into the effects of low-level environmental perchlorate exposure on pregnant women and their children finds no health effects — raising questions about EPA's recent determination that the presence of perchlorate in drinking water causes a public health concern necessitating a first-time drinking water standard for the chemical. Conducted by researchers at Boston University, the University of Southern California and hospitals in Cordoba, Argentina, the new study raises questions about the health effects EPA is intending to protect against. "Low-level perchlorate exposure is ubiquitous, but is not associated with alteration in thyroid function tests among women in the first trimester of pregnancy," the study concludes.