The American Chemical Society says Fourth of July fireworks across the United States, as well as July 1 for Canada Day observances, might go green. The ACS says a new generation of green fireworks is quietly making its way toward the sky -- green as in environmentally friendly. Fireworks, flares and other pyrotechnics traditionally have included potassium perchlorate as the oxidizer, a material that provides the oxygen that fireworks need to burn, the society said.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered the presence of percholrate – a chemical used in rocket fuel and also linked to thyroid disease - in 15 different types of baby formulas.

While environmental officials in other states have been bickering over who is responsible for cleaning up contamination from the rocket fuel ingredient, perchlorate, and to what level, water quality officials in Nevada have blazed a trail to follow.

By J. Craig Anderson, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz. Dec. 2--For the past quarter-century, state and federal regulators have suspected a growing plume of contamination under defense contractor Talley Defense Systems' east Mesa burn site but have done nothing to stop it.

U.S. government scientists say Fourth of July fireworks displays often held over lakes and other bodies of water can pollute the water with perchlorate. The U. S.