[CPEO-MEF] Perchlorate debate

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Perchlorate detected widely in mother's milk



By DAVID DANELSKI
Riverside Press-Enterprise (CA)
February 23, 2005

A study published Tuesday found the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate in 
all human milk samples collected from women in 18 states, raising new 
concerns about the federal government's efforts to determine a safe 
level in drinking water.

The researchers calculated that most of the babies whose mothers gave 
samples are consuming more perchlorate than the National Academy of 
Sciences recently found is safe.

The lead author of the study, published in the online edition of 
Environmental Science & Technology, said women shouldn't stop breastfeeding.

...

Kevin Mayer, EPA perchlorate coordinator for the Pacific Southwestern 
states, said his interpretation of the National Academy's work would put 
the safe level at 4.3 parts per billion for babies because they consume 
more liquid per unit of body weight than adults do.

"I'm just not able to explain with any clarity from a professional 
standpoint how the agency arrived at this (24.5 ppb) conclusion," said 
Mayer, perchlorate coordinator for more than seven years.

But Bill Farland, an acting deputy assistant administrator at the EPA's 
Office of Research and Development in Washington, D.C., said basing the 
safe dose on an adult's weight was appropriate because the most 
sensitive population is fetuses of pregnant women who have thyroid 
problems. The safe dose is based on the mother's weight.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/stories/PE_News_Local_milk23.58366.html


--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@list.cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/military