Objective

Man-made perchlorate salts are used in road flares and may cause widespread, low concentration perchlorate impacts to groundwater.

The frequency of detecting widespread, low concentration perchlorate impacts to groundwater is increasing as regulators nationwide begin to require perchlorate analysis as part of regional groundwater monitoring programs. While impacts from natural sources and mechanisms may explain some cases, other incidences may result from long-term, non-military inputs, including fertilizer use, fireworks and other explosives, and a variety of other uses of man-made perchlorate salts such as road flares. Furthermore, analytical methods for drinking water, such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 314.0-Determination of Perchlorate in Drinking Water by Ion Chromatography, are prone to a variety of false-positive detections and interferences related to common industrial chemicals such as sulfonates, raising the question of whether these low-level detections are perchlorate at all. Given the high cost of groundwater remediation at perchlorate sites, it is imperative that the Department of Defense (DoD) develop information and tools that can distinguish military from non-military perchlorate impacts so remediation responsibility and cost can be accurately defined and limited.

The objective of this project is to identify and ultimately quantify, to the extent possible, the potential impacts of wide-ranging, non-military perchlorate inputs to the environment. The project also will expand on previous research to understand and quantify the potential impact of sulfonates on perchlorate detection in groundwater.