“The EPA is pleased to support the Monk Hill water treatment plant, which will bring clean water to the people of Pasadena and prevent further migration of perchlorate in the groundwater basin.” said Keith Takata, the U.S. EPA’s Superfund Director for the Pacific Southwest Region. Approximately 7,000 gallons per minute of perchlorate and volatile organic compounds will be removed; this treated water will later be chloraminated and serve as drinking water for area residents.

Perchlorate is a component of solid rocket fuel and certain types of fertilizers, and can affect the thyroid gland. Volatile organic compounds are used as industrial cleaning solvents, and can cause nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, and liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage.

The City of Pasadena will own and operate the plant. NASA is funding construction and operating costs. Completion is anticipated in 2010. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country posing the greatest long-term threat to public health and the environment.