The most comprehensive survey of fertilizers and other raw materials for perchlorate to date has been conducted to determine whether these could be significant contributors to environmental perchlorate contamination. The data span a large range of commercial products; however, they were collected over a relatively short time period and comprise a snapshot rather than addressing temporal patterns of perchlorate occurrence. This investigation was designed to account for the difficulties in chemical analysis presented by fertilizer matrices and the problems in obtaining representative samples of these materials. Emphasis was placed on sampling source materials (which also form the basis of most blends) to broaden the applicability of the results to production farming as well as consumer use. Field samples of 48 different products from manufacturers of major commodity chemicals were collected from representative sites around the nation. These covered major sources of macronutrients, some sources of micronutrients, and several sources of fillers/additives. Whenever possible, field samples were collected under supervision of state chemists or agriculture department staff. The field samples were riffled and divided; portions of each material were sent to several laboratories for analysis. Perchlorate was dissolved by leaching the material with deionized water with shaking. Subsequently, the aqueous leachates were subjected to ion chromatography using Dionex IonPac AG16 and AS16 columns.

"EPA/600/R-01/047." "May 2001." "This study was conducted in cooperation with North Carolina State University, IMC-Global The Fertilizer Institute, the Office of Indiana State Chemist and Seed Commissioner, and the International Fertilizer Development Center. " ... Timothy W. Collette, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ..."