[CPEO-MEF] Perchlorate in the body

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Testing detects wider reach
Perchlorate in food


By DAVID DANELSKI
Riverside Press-Enterprise
January 25, 2006



A rocket-fuel chemical that has contaminated Inland water supplies could 
be much more prevalent in food than previously believed, according to 
data gathered by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Agency scientists made the discovery unexpectedly, while evaluating a 
new method of testing for perchlorate in the human body.

The researchers asked CDC employees in Atlanta to donate urine samples 
in order to screen a technique that the agency is now using in a major 
health study of perchlorate in thousands of Americans. The chemical, in 
sufficient amounts, interferes with thyroid function that regulates 
metabolism and, in fetuses and babies, brain and nerve development.

The chemical is barely detectable in Atlanta's drinking water, but all 
62 urine samples contained perchlorate in higher concentrations than 
those found in the water. One of the employees had more than 100 times 
the concentration in the city water. The researchers determined that the 
person's body contained a level slightly higher than the amount deemed 
safe by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. ...

For the entire article, see
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_perch26.1824f176.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