Posted: March 3, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO – A settlement announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice secured $1.1 billion in funds to cleanup a former chemical manufacturing site in Henderson, Nev.
The Henderson site is the largest perchlorate groundwater plume in the country. The plume has contaminated Lake Mead, which feeds into the Colorado River, a major source of drinking water in the Southwest. Perchlorate can interfere with the production of thyroid hormones, which are needed for prenatal and postnatal growth and development, as well as for normal metabolism and mental function in adults.
“This historic $1.1 billion settlement will result in cleaning up the nation’s largest perchlorate plume and ensuring that 15 million people throughout the West will have access to safe drinking water,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the EPA Pacific Southwest.
Continue reading U.S. Government Announces $1.1 Billion for Henderson Perchlorate Clean Up