EPA to set limit for rocket fuel chemical in drinking water 3x higher than scientists recommend

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning on weakening yet another environmental and health protection rule, this time by raising the threshold for a chemical found in rocket fuel. The EPA plans to triple the previous limit allowed in drinking water.The chemical perchlorate, which is linked to thyroid problems, was previously set to 15 micrograms per liter of water. The EPA proposes a new limit of 56 micrograms per liter.The EPA announced the plans last week and asked for public comments on the proposal. The agency has also proposed three alternate options: setting the level to 18 micrograms per liter, to 90 micrograms per liter, or abolishing the rule regulating perchlorate in drinking water.This new EPA proposal comes after a decade of delay and a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), who are demanding the EPA set an enforceable standard for the chemical. The previous recommendation by EPA scientists, 15 micrograms per liter, was an advisory to help guide local and state limits but was not enforceable.The NRDC says that scientists recommend a limit that is “10 to more than 50 times lower” than what the EPA is proposing.