EPA wants to triple the rocket fuel chemical allowed in drinking water

[Igel]

5. The TP link

itself says that the current limits are "advisory."

Right now there is no upper limit that's "dis-allowed", at least by the EPA. According to ThinkProgress.

There's also the question as to the origin of the perchlorate. In many instances, it's man-made. In others, it's naturally occurring--that doesn't make it safe, but does change the argument from, "Look at these lobbyists, industrialists, and evil government installations trying to excuse their polluting ways" to "Look--some of the higher levels are from industrial or government sources, but others are from good ol' Mother Nature. Hmm-hmm, natural is great!" (Or perhaps not so great, since smallpox and polio are also natural and "organic". But hey, I was a chemistry major at one point in my life. But the label "natural" is not necessarily a positive thing.)

I still find darkly amusing that older attempts to check for life on Mars by looking for organics produced by volatilization of whatever's in Martian soil samples were undermined by the fact that perchlorate, a very strong oxidizing agent, is naturally occurring in Martian soil, and would have resulted in most organics being sensed as atmospheric CO2 levels.