[CPEO-MEF] Boston babies and perchlorate

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

NEW RELEASE
Environmental Working Group
March 29, 2007

CDC Study Shows Boston Area Infants Exposed to Dangerous Rocket Fuel
Ingredient through Breast Milk
EWG Calls on EPA to Set Nation-Wide Standards for Perchlorate

WASHINGTON - An Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis of recently 
published data from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
and Boston University (BU) shows that infants are being exposed to 
dangerous levels of the rocket fuel component perchlorate.

The CDC/BU study, which examined breast milk from 49 Boston area women, 
found that the average breast fed infant in this study is being exposed 
to more than double the dose of perchlorate that the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) considers safe; highly exposed babies are 
ingesting up to 10 times this amount. Today, EWG called on the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action and implement 
adequate nationwide standards for perchlorate.

"The levels of perchlorate found in breast milk in this study suggest a 
serious threat to the normal development and health of potentially all 
American infants. To protect public health, EPA must adopt a maximum 
contaminant level for perchlorate in drinking water based on the most 
recent science, including the 2006 CDC study and the Boston study," 
wrote Dr. Anila Jacob, MD, MPH and Richard Wiles, Executive Director of 
EWG in their letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

Perchlorate, the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, has leaked 
from military bases and defense and aerospace contractors' plants in at 
least 22 states, contaminating drinking water for millions of Americans. 
The chemical has also been found to contaminate dairy milk, produce, and 
many other foods and plants. In a related 2006 study, the CDC found 
perchlorate in the urine of every one of 2,820 people tested, suggesting 
that food is a key route of exposure in addition to drinking water. 
Boston's tap water is not known to be contaminated with perchlorate; the 
49 women in this study were likely exposed through food.

Breast milk is by far the healthiest food for infants, and mothers 
should continue to breastfeed their babies. However, the perchlorate 
levels found in breast milk in this CDC/BU study are alarming.

###

EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that 
uses the power of information to protect human health and the 
environment. The group's research on this issue as well as the CDC/BU 
report and the letter to EPA are available online at 
http://ewg.org/issues/perchlorate/20070329/.


...

For the original press release, see
http://ewg.org/issues/perchlorate/20070329/index.php

--


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
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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