An MD named Anila Jacob recently testified in the US House about the impact on infants from perchlorate (solid rocket fuel used in explosives and rocket propellants) now found in drinking water and food in many U.S. cities.

The EPA has studied and been warned about this in the past:

Perchlorate a powerful oxidant used in solid rocket fuels by the military and aerospace industry has been detected in public drinking water supplies of over 11 million people at concentrations of at least 4 parts per billion (ppb).

Apparently Illinois Congressman John Shimkus challenged Dr. Jacob’s testimony by saying the financial burden of cleaning up America’s water would be too burdensome for corporations like Lockheed Martin and the US should indefinitely delay definition of a contaminant level.

The Doctor’s response to Shimkus is notable:

Congress’s first concern ought to be the health of the nation’s children who are forced to drink rocket fuel in their tap water.

Is Shimkus really more concerned about the security of Lockheed Martin’s profits than the health and safety of US citizens? One would think he would realize that the security of the country is closely tied to a clean environment. I don’t buy the argument that more data is required before setting a limit since the health risks are documented while the source data is intentionally obscured:

Production and use estimates of perchlorate are hard to come by: the military considers the numbers secret, and fertilizer producers won’t share them, saying they are proprietary information.

For what it is worth, it turns out Shimkus is not exactly the sort of man who carries a strong sense of ethics, or even stands by his own words:

Shimkus announced in September 2005 that he will run for reelection in 2008, despite making a pledge when first elected in 1996 not to stay in office for more than 12 years. He said he will run for a seventh term in 2008 if he wins re-election in 2006. “It was a mistake at the time,” he said about his 1996 campaign promises. “Unless everyone plays by the same rules, term limits don’t make sense.”

Uh, it’s ok to do the wrong thing if other people are doing it too? Maybe Shimkus will run a campaign on “I’ll allow toxins in every cup”. Or maybe he should continue his pro-life stance with “abortion is wrong, but intentionally poisoning your baby is ok if it keeps defense and aerospace companies profitable.” I can see my ethics professor rolling his eyes and pulling on his hair in frustration. Clearly US national security is most at risk from exactly this kind of malfeasance.