Elon Musk's SpaceX allegedly polluted the water in the US state of Texas and violated environmental regulations.
CNBC reported that the company allegedly dumped waste containing harmful substances into water sources in and around Texas. Starbase, the facility where SpaceX launches its rockets, is located in Texas.
According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the water discharge system at Starbase discharges wastewater into the surrounding springs without a permit.
The commission said it received a letter on August 6 last year with complaints about 14 such incidents.
As a result of the investigation, it was found that SpaceX discharged industrial waste water into the surrounding water sources 4 times between March and July this year.
MERCURY CONCERNS IN WASTEWATER
According to CNBC, on March 13 this year, SpaceX launched Starship the next day, despite reports of breaches in the system.
The biggest concern about the wastewater stems from documents showing that the mercury content is very high.
SpaceX's permit for the discharge system states that one liter of water at one of the discharge points contains 113 micrograms of mercury. The state allows a maximum of 2.1 micrograms per liter.
The company argues that there is “no detectable amount of mercury” in the water and that there may have been a typographical error in the document.
