rocket lettuce part deux

[Guest guest]

A toxic chemical used in rocket fuel was found in four of 22 winter

lettuce samples purchased at Northern California grocery stores,

according to a report by the Environmental Working Group. The

lettuce contaminated with perchlorate, a hormone disrupter, was

traced to farms in Southern California and Arizona that irrigate

their crops with Colorado River water, which has been contaminated

with perchlorate by military and industrial activity. An

average-sized serving of the tainted leafy greens contained at least

four times the level of perchlorate considered safe in drinking water

by the U.S. EPA, though not enough research has been done to

determine how much perchlorate in the diet would be dangerous. EWG

is calling on the federal government to do a comprehensive study of

perchlorate in the food stream and to clean up military sites

contaminated with the chemical. Earlier this month, Democratic Sens.

Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), and Harry Reid

(Nev.) wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calling

for more aggressive cleanup of perchlorate-contaminated sites.

 

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Miguel Bustillo, 28 Apr 2003

<http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1064>

 

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Carl T. Hall, 28 Apr 2003

<http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1065>