MCKEON SEEKS CLEANUP FUNDS BERMITE CALLED FEDERAL CONCERN.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer SAUGUS - U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon is seeking an additional $10 million to combat groundwater pollution that has been linked to the defunct Bermite munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. plant in Santa Clarita. The money would come from U.S. Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal 2000-01. McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, also included $7 million in a bill initially drafted to clean groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. basin. The federal government should help clean perchlorates - a residue of rocket fuel - from the Saugus Aquifer because the pollution is a result of work done for the nation's defense in the days before environmental regulations, McKeon said Thursday, during a tour of the Bermite property on Soledad Canyon Road. Precedent has been set in a South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. cleanup that received Defense Department funding, McKeon aide David Foy said. McKeon has written a letter to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations asking to have the local project included in the defense budget. ``We're confident we will be able to get some federal money for this project,'' McKeon said. The request for $7 million might be included in the Water Resources Development Act, a bill that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' annual expenditures. If approved, the funding would pay the Army Corps to study the extent of the local perchlorate perchlorate: see chlorate. pollution and possible cleanup methods. Four municipal wells have been closed near the Bermite property because of perchlorate contamination. Samples from two wells exceeded newly drawn standards, while only traces were found in the others. The latter, however, were shut down to avoid disrupting the plume of tainted water, according to documents compiled by the local water retailers and state health officials. Perchlorates, also found on the surface at Bermite, have been linked to thyroid disorders. And while the Bermite plant was abandoned about 15 years ago, it's only in recent years that testing was developed to detect the fuel residue in water. Cleanup methods are experimental and costly. WHAT IS PERCHLORATE? Perchlorate originates as an environmental contaminant contaminant /con·tam·i·nant/ (kon-tam´in-int) something that causes contamination. contaminant something that causes contamination. from the solid salts of ammonium, potassium or sodium perchlorate. The perchlorate part of the salts is quite soluble in water, and it can persist for decades under typical groundwater and surface water conditions. Most perchlorate contamination is associated with facilities where solid rocket fuels were manufactured or tested for the Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), . Several of those facilities were in California, including the former Whittaker-Bermite site where the Porta Bella development is being planned. Studies have found that perchlorate contributes to thyroid hormone Thyroid hormone Any of the chemical messengers produced by the thyroid gland, including thyrocalcitonin, a polypeptide, and thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which are iodinated thyronines. See Hormone, Thyrocalcitonin, Thyroid gland, Thyroxine deficiencies that can affect normal metabolism, growth and development. The state Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
The chemical's ecological effect is uncertain at this time. SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and , Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. CAPTION(S): box Box: (ran in SAC edition only) WHAT IS PERCHLORATE? (see text) |
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