	The State of Knowledge About TCE and Perchlorate

While TCE and perchlorate are both DOD-classified emerging  contaminants, there are key distinctions between the contaminants that  affect the extent to which they are regulated, and the information that may  be needed before further steps are taken to protect human health and the  environment. EPA Has Established a Standard for TCE and Knowledge is Evolving

We provided details about EPA’s evolving standards for TCE and the  evolving knowledge of its health effects in our May 2007 report and June  2007 testimony on issues related to drinking water contamination on  Camp Lejeune. DOD has used the chemical in a  wide variety of industrial and maintenance processes. The health concerns over TCE have  been further amplified in recent years after scientific studies have  suggested additional risks posed by human exposure to TCE. Perchlorate  is a primary ingredient in propellant and has been used for decades by the  Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space  Administration, and the defense industry in manufacturing, testing, and  firing missiles and rockets. It is readily dissolved and transported in water and has been  found in groundwater, surface water, drinking water, and soil across the  country. Some federal funding has been directed to perchlorate studies and cleanup  activities. DOD’s Responsibilities to Address Perchlorate and Other Emerging Contaminants Where Federal Regulatory Standards Do Not Exist

DOD has certain responsibilities with regard to emerging contaminants  such as TCE that are regulated by EPA or state governments, but its  responsibilities and cleanup goals are less definite for emerging  contaminants such as perchlorate that lack federal regulatory standards. As we reported in our 2005 perchlorate report, DOD has sometimes  responded at the request of EPA and state environmental authorities— which have used a patchwork of statutes, regulations, and general  oversight authorities—to act (or require others, including DOD, to act)  when perchlorate was deemed to pose a threat to human health and the  environment. For example, pursuant to its authority under the Clean  Water Act’s NPDES program, Texas required the Navy to reduce  perchlorate levels in wastewater discharges at the McGregor Naval  Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant to 4 parts per billion, the lowest level at  which perchlorate could be detected. Finally, according to EPA, in the absence of a federal perchlorate  standard, at least eight states have established nonregulatory action levels  or advisories for perchlorate ranging from 1 part per billion to 51 parts per  billion. Nevada required the Kerr-McGee Chemical site in Henderson to treat  groundwater and reduce perchlorate concentration releases to 18 ppb,  which is Nevada’s action level for perchlorate. Another of  MERIT’s activities was to create an Emerging Contaminant Action List of  materials that DOD has assessed and judged to have a significant potential  impact on people or DOD’s mission. DOD is Taking Actions to Address TCE

In 1979, EPA issued nonenforceable guidance establishing “suggested no  adverse response levels” for TCE in drinking water. According to EPA’s Region 4  Superfund Director, for example, 46 sites on Camp Lejeune have since  been identified for TCE cleanup. The Navy and EPA have selected  remedies for 30 of those sites, and the remaining 16 are under active  investigation. DOD is Sampling For Perchlorate and Taking Cleanup Actions Under Certain Conditions

In the absence of a federal perchlorate standard, DOD has adopted its own  policies with regard to sampling and cleanup. In January 2006, DOD updated its policy with the issuance of its Policy on  DOD Required Actions Related to Perchlorate. The new policy applies  broadly to DOD’s active and closed installations and formerly used  defense sites within the United States, its territories and possessions. It stated, for example, that its  adoption of 24 ppb as the current level of concern for managing  perchlorate was in response to EPA’s adoption of an oral reference dose  that translates to a Drinking Water Equivalent Level of 24.5 ppb. The  policy also states that when EPA or the states adopt standards for  perchlorate, “DOD will comply with applicable state or federal  promulgated standards whichever is more stringent.”
The 2006 policy directs DOD to test for perchlorate when it is reasonably  expected that a release has occurred.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOD defines emerging contaminants as chemicals or materials with (1) perceived or real threat to health or the environment and (2) lack of published standards or a standard that is evolving or being reevaluated. Two emerging contaminants--trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchlorate--are of particular concern to DOD because they have significant potential to impact people or DOD's mission. TCE, a degreasing agent in metal cleaning which has been used widely in DOD industrial and maintenance processes, has been documented at low exposure levels to cause headaches and difficulty concentrating. High-level exposure may cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, unconsciousness, cancer, and possibly death. Similarly, perchlorate has been used by DOD, NASA, and others in making, testing, and firing missiles and rockets. It has been widely found in groundwater, surface water, and soil across the United States, Perchlorate health studies have documented particular risks to fetuses of pregnant women. GAO was asked for testimony to summarize its past work on perchlorate-, TCE-, and defense-activities related to (1) the state of knowledge about the emerging contaminants TCE and perchlorate, (2) DOD responsibilities for managing TCE and perchlorate contamination at its facilities, and (3) DOD activities to address TCE and perchlorate contamination.

What GAO Found

While TCE and perchlorate are both classified by DOD as emerging contaminants, there are important distinctions in how they are regulated and in what is known about their health and environmental effects. Since 1989, EPA has regulated TCE in drinking water. However, health concerns over TCE have been further amplified in recent years after scientific studies have suggested additional risks posed by human exposure to TCE. Unlike TCE, no drinking water standard exists for perchlorate--a fact that has caused much discussion in Congress and elsewhere. Recent Food and Drug Administration data documenting the extent of perchlorate contamination in the nation's food supply has further fueled this debate. While DOD has clear responsibilities to address TCE because it is subject to EPA's regulatory standard, DOD's responsibilities are less definite for perchlorate due to the lack of such a standard. Nonetheless, perchlorate's designation by DOD as an emerging contaminant has led to some significant control actions. These actions have included responding to requests by EPA and state environmental authorities, which have used a patchwork of statutes, regulations, and general oversight authorities to address perchlorate contamination. Pursuant to its Clean Water Act authorities, for example, Texas required the Navy to reduce perchlorate levels in wastewater discharges at the McGregor Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant to 4 parts per billion (ppb), the lowest level at which perchlorate could be detected at the time. In addition, in the absence of a federal perchlorate standard, at least nine states have established nonregulatory action levels or advisories for perchlorate ranging from 1 ppb to 51 ppb. Nevada, for example, required the Kerr-McGee Chemical site in Henderson to treat groundwater and reduce perchlorate releases to 18 ppb, which is Nevada's action level for perchlorate. While nonenforceable guidance had existed previously, it was not until EPA adopted its 1989 TCE standard that many DOD facilities began to take concrete action to control the contaminant. According to EPA, for example, 46 sites at Camp Lejeune have since been identified for TCE cleanup. The Navy and EPA have selected remedies for 30 of those sites, and the remaining 16 are under active investigation. Regarding perchlorate, in the absence of a federal standard DOD has implemented its own policies on sampling and cleanup, most recently with its 2006 Policy on DOD Required Actions Related to Perchlorate. The policy applies broadly to DOD's active and closed installations and formerly used defense sites within the United States and its territories. It requires testing for perchlorate and certain cleanup actions and directs the department to comply with applicable federal or state promulgated standards, whichever is more stringent. The policy notes, that DOD has established 24 ppb as the current level of concern for managing perchlorate until the promulgation of a formal standard by the states and/or EPA.