Toxic Rocket Fuel Is Good for You!

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A report for the Urban Water Research Center at the University of California at Irvine (which is "funded in part by contributions from water utilities and other private sources," writes the Wall Street Journal) concluded that the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate is not as dangerous as previously thought. The Council on Water Quality, a perchlorate industry group, praised the findings. Perchlorate, which affects the thyroid, has contaminated water supplies in 22 states. Richard Bull, an environmental-risk consultant and former Lockheed Martin consultant, co-authored the industry-friendly report. After its release, Bull resigned from a National Academy of Sciences panel studying perchlorate's health effects. He said he understood concerns that "I was associated with an opinion that put the NAS in an awkward position."