Fetuses love rocket fuel

Noticing a delightful tang in your water of late? Do you feel like you've got some extra pep? Like your thyroid is being slowly liquidated? You've probably just been reaping the rewards of a water supply contaminated with rocket fuel. As you've no doubt developed a taste for ground water and perchlorate you'll be happy to hear the EPA is going to do jack shit.

The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.

EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press.

The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.

The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems."

What caused most of this percolate? The Defense Department's use of it in missile testing, defense and aerospace activities. That means if there's a cleanup the Pentagon faces liability issues. We can't have that, so thus the EPA squashes this and you South Westerners get flipper babies.

The Bush EPA: Looking out for you numero uno.