What are perchlorates used for?
❖ Perchlorate is commonly used as an oxidizer in solid propellants, munitions, fireworks, airbag initiators for vehicles, matches and signal flares (EPA FFRRO 2005; ITRC 2005). It is also used in some electroplating operations and found in some disinfectants and herbicides (ATSDR 2008; ITRC 2005).
What is perchlorate in drinking water?
Perchlorate may occur naturally, particularly in arid regions such as the southwestern United States and is found as an impurity in hypochlorite solutions used for drinking water treatment and nitrate salts used to produce nitrate fertilizers, explosives, and other products.
How can perchlorate harm humans?
What are the health risks associated with perchlorate exposure? Human exposure to high dosages of perchlorate can interfere with iodide uptake into the thyroid gland, disrupting the functions of the thyroid and potentially leading to a reduction in the production of thyroid hormone.
How do perchlorates affect the environment?
Perchlorates are also emerging as potent thyroid disruptors, and they have an impact on the ecology too. Many studies have shown that perchlorate contaminates the groundwater and the surface water, especially in the vicinity of fireworks manufacturing sites and fireworks display sites.
Is perchlorate in bottled water?
In the USA, perchlorate was detected in 10 of 21 bottled waters (MRL = 0.05 µg/L), with a maximum reported concentration of 0.74 µg/L (Snyder, Vanderford & Rexing, 2005).
How long does perchlorate stay in your system?
Perchlorate is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract after ingestion. It is excreted intact in the urine and has a half-life in humans of approximately 6 to 8 hours (30). Approximately 95% is recovered in the urine within 72 hours (30).
Is perchlorate toxic?
The primary toxicity issue is associated with disruption of iodide uptake in the thyroid gland due to its similarity in ionic radius to iodide. Widespread presence of perchlorate in drinking water aquifers and its toxicological properties make perchlorate an emerging chemical of concern.
How do you remove perchlorate from drinking water?
Perchlorate cannot be removed by heating or boiling water, however a point-of-use reverse osmosis device could be used to effectively remove perchlorate from drinking water.
How do you get rid of perchlorates?
Is chlorate the same as perchlorate?
The key difference between chlorate and perchlorate is that chlorate is the anion derived from the dissociation of chloric acid whereas perchlorate is the anion derived from the dissociation of perchloric acid. Chlorate and perchlorate are oxyanions containing chlorine and oxygen atoms.
How does perchlorate affect the thyroid?
At high levels, perchlorate can inhibit the function of the thyroid gland, leading to hypothyroidism in adults. Now, a large study published yesterday in Environmental Health Perspectives shows that much lower levels of perchlorate, traditionally considered safe, can be detrimental to thyroid function in women.