Perchlorate, a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has infiltrated groundwater in Morgan Hill and San Martin, was first detected at the former Olin site in southern Morgan Hill in August 2000 during a screening of the land by a potential buyer. The findings were reported to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control board staff in February 2001. The contamination may have occurred due to unlined evaporation ponds that received waste from cleaning ignition mixing bowls, on-site burning of cardboard flare coatings, and accidental spills.

In a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, McNerney said he found comments by assistant administrator Benjamin Grumbles "disturbing" alluding to his agency's reluctance to create a national standard any time soon.

"There is no more basic function of your agency than to protect Americans of all ages, and we need to make sure that children, who are the most vulnerable to perchlorate, are safe from ingesting dangerous pollutants," McNerney wrote in a letter to Stephen Johnson of the EPA. "I strongly recommend that you make clear the intention of the EPA with regard to a national perchlorate standard and work with Congress to provide the appropriate level of protection to families throughout the country. I appreciate your consideration of this request, and I look forward to your response."

Perchlorate is found in 300 products, and there are 395 perchlorate plume sites in 35 states, McNerney said.

California has a state standard of 6 parts-per-billion, or pbb, while Massachusetts has the lowest at 2 ppb.

Grumbles said during a Senate hearing that EPA is aware that perchlorate is widespread and poses health problems, but though the EPA has been studying it for years, they have not yet determined if regulating the amount in drinking water would do much good.

McNerney said a national standard is the only thing that's going to work.

"We need standards that are strong enough to protect children," he said in a phone interview Friday afternoon. "We know it's widespread, it's a common substance, Olin isn't the only company that used it, you have defense work going on all over the country. I don't think we can just sweep this one under the rug."

Grumbles said during the hearing that it was possible that the EPA would issue a public safety advisory instead of a regulation.  

McNerney said he will continue to advocate for a national standard.

"We'll see what their response is, see where we need to go from here," he said. "'We'll work with some of the senators as well. The environmental committee is the best venue for this."

In December, the CCRWQC board issued its most recent cleanup order for Olin. The mandate was inadequate, in the eyes of city leaders, and Mayor Steve Tate bluntly described it as a "slap in the face" to the city of Morgan Hill. He was frustrated that residents were continuing to pay a water surcharge to clean up the more than 4,000 pounds of perchlorate from the Llagas Subbasin - the underground aquifer from which the affected well water is pumped.

Thea Tryon, senior engineering geologist for the regional water board, said a national standard would not affect the board's authority to impose a standard on Olin because the board has required them to clean to background concentrate levels.

Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil covers Morgan Hill education and public safety for South Valley Newspapers. Send her an e-mail.