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In yet another environmental rollback, the Trump Administration issued an action on the regulation of perchlorate under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Perchlorate is linked to brain damage in infants.

With this rule, there’s no limit on the chemical in drinking water. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the decision “fulfills President Trump’s promise to pare back burdensome ‘one-size-fits-all’ overregulation for the American people.” 16 million Americans’ drinking water is contaminated by perchlorate from runoff and according to the Government Accountability Office, 45 states have perchlorate in their water, soil or sediment.

The EPA introduced limits on the chemical in 2011, rules that have been rolled back by the Trump Administration. Perchlorate is found in fireworks, matches, signal flares and solid rocket propellants.

The chemical is linked to disrupted thyroid functions in infants and can harm developing brains in fetuses and young children. “The science on perchlorate is very clear: It harms infants and the developing fetus,” said Olga Naidenko, senior science adviser for children’s environmental health at the Environmental Working Group. “Perchlorate can cause irreparable damage to both cognitive and physical development. Instead of taking action to lower the levels of this rocket fuel chemical in drinking water, the administration’s plan will endanger the health of future generations of kids.”

Read more about President Trump’s EPA in One Green Planet, check out these articles:

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