Perchlorate

What is perchlorate used for?

In the late 1990s, perchlorate was identified in drinking water supplies in California. It was associated with the use of the common salt anion of ammonium, potassium and sodium (ClO4-) as a solid rocket fuel component. The majority of the perchlorate produced in the U.S. is used in solid rocket fuel, but explosives, airbag inflators, leather finishing and fertilizers can contain perchlorate as well.

What are the effects of perchlorate?

Perchlorate salts dissociate very readily and are not affected by pH or temperature. The resulting perchlorate ion is very mobile and persistent in aqueous systems and is very difficult to treat.

Environmental releases of perchlorate have been identified in 18 states, as well as the Colorado River, which is the main source of drinking water for millions of residents in the Southwest United States.

For many years it was believed that perchlorate was not dangerous; however, there is a growing concern that even small amounts may cause thyroid tumors, decrease thyroid function and adversely affect neurological growth and development in fetuses and infants.

How is perchlorate regulated in the United States?

In order to gather needed exposure information and consideration for possible regulation, perchlorate was placed on the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) in March 1998 and on the Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule (UCMR) in March 1999.

As a result of being placed on the CCL and UCMR, numerous projects are being conducted to determine the extent of perchlorate occurrence in the environment. Since the physical and chemical nature of perchlorate effectively blocks reductants from attacking the chlorine, treatment of contaminated water is complex.

Perchlorate analysis methods

In the early 2000s, ion chromatography analytical methods were developed to provide improved sensitivity for commercial laboratories. Many clients were concerned that the lower level ion chromatography (IC) using EPA Method 314.0 did not provide the specificity required and would lead to false positives, especially in highly complex matrices impacted with salt and other materials. Eurofins performs several sample pretreatment techniques to remove matrix interferences, which allows us to maintain low detection limits and preserve expensive chromatographic supplies. (This analysis must be pre-arranged with the laboratory prior to sample submission.)

Eurofins offers trace-level analysis of perchlorate in water, using EPA Method SW-846 6850 (LC/MS/MS), which provides excellent sensitivity and selectivity.