Which chemical associated with rocket fuel contaminates water and disrupts thyroid function?

Which chemical associated with rocket fuel contaminates water and disrupts thyroid function?

• A. Ammonia
• B. Benzene
• C. Ethanol
• D. Perchlorate

Answer: (D)

Perchlorate is the chemical tied to rocket fuel that can contaminate water and disrupt thyroid function. It comes from the oxidizer used in solid rocket propellants, and because it dissolves readily in water, it can move through groundwater into drinking supplies. The key health effect is that perchlorate competes with iodide for uptake into the thyroid gland via the sodium-iodide symporter. When iodide uptake is reduced, the thyroid can’t synthesize enough thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), which are essential for metabolism and normal development, particularly in fetuses and young children. The other substances listed don’t have this same combination of rocket-fuel linkage and a direct thyroid-disrupting mechanism. Ammonia is a common pollutant that raises pH and nutrients in water; benzene is a carcinogen associated with fossil-fuel sources; ethanol is a relatively less problematic organic compound with different health effects and not a known thyroid disruptor at typical environmental levels.

Perchlorate is the chemical tied to rocket fuel that can contaminate water and disrupt thyroid function. It comes from the oxidizer used in solid rocket propellants, and because it dissolves readily in water, it can move through groundwater into drinking supplies. The key health effect is that perchlorate competes with iodide for uptake into the thyroid gland via the sodium-iodide symporter. When iodide uptake is reduced, the thyroid can’t synthesize enough thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), which are essential for metabolism and normal development, particularly in fetuses and young children.

The other substances listed don’t have this same combination of rocket-fuel linkage and a direct thyroid-disrupting mechanism. Ammonia is a common pollutant that raises pH and nutrients in water; benzene is a carcinogen associated with fossil-fuel sources; ethanol is a relatively less problematic organic compound with different health effects and not a known thyroid disruptor at typical environmental levels.