Editing Flare (section)

===Perchlorate flare health issues===
Many in-service colored signal flares and spectrally balanced [[Flare (countermeasure)|decoy flares]] contain [[perchlorate]] [[Oxidizing agent|oxidizers]]. Perchlorate, a type of [[Salt (chemistry)|salt]] in its solid form, dissolves and moves rapidly in groundwater and surface water. Even in low concentrations in drinking water supplies, perchlorate is known to inhibit the uptake of [[Iodine in biology|iodine]] by the [[thyroid gland]]. While there are currently no US federal [[drinking water standard]]s for perchlorate, some states have established public health goals or action levels, and some are in the process of establishing state maximum contaminant levels. For example, the [[US Environmental Protection Agency]] has studied the impacts of perchlorate on the environment as well as drinking water.<ref>{{cite web |title=Water: Unregulated |url=http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/unregulated/perchlorate.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218032723/http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/unregulated/perchlorate.html |archive-date=18 February 2015 |website=EPA}}</ref> California has also issued guidance regarding perchlorate use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/drinkingwater/Pages/Perchlorate.aspx |title=Perchlorate in Drinking Water |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627215056/http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/drinkingwater/Pages/perchlorate.aspx |archive-date=27 June 2010  }}</ref>

US courts have taken action regarding the use of perchlorate in manufacturing pyrotechnic devices such as flares. For example, in 2003, a federal district court in California found that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) applied because perchlorate is ignitable and therefore a "characteristic" [[Hazardous waste in the United States|hazardous waste]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jackson |first=Jim |date=March 2010 |title=Pipeline Flash Reactor Technology Selected for Castaic Lake Water Agency Expansion |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.2010.tb10070.x |journal=Journal - American Water Works Association |volume=102 |issue=3 |pages=33–34 |doi=10.1002/j.1551-8833.2010.tb10070.x |bibcode=2010JAWWA.102c..33J |s2cid=116522917 |issn=0003-150X }}</ref> Flares manufactured in the United States no longer use [[potassium perchlorate]] as an oxidizer and do not contain [[aluminium]] or [[magnesium]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}