[CPEO-MEF] Two-Year Olds and perchlorate

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

News Release
Environmental Working Group
January 17, 2008

Gov't Study Shows Millions of Two-Year Olds Exposed To Dangerous Levels 
of Rocket Fuel Through Food and Water
EPA Must Set a Safety Standard for Perchlorate in Tap Water to Protect 
Children



WASHINGTON - A recent study by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
found that three quarters of 285 commonly consumed foods and beverages 
are contaminated with perchlorate, a toxic rocket fuel ingredient. 
According to the study, every day, the average two-year-old is exposed 
to more than half of the EPA "safe" dose (RfD) of perchlorate from food 
alone. This is bad news for children in communities in 28 states who 
also are exposed to perchlorate through contaminated tap water. Very low 
levels of perchlorate in tap water will cause the average two year old 
to exceed EPA's safe exposure level.

Two-year-olds are particularly vulnerable because they eat and drink 
substantial amounts of food and water relative to their small size. An 
Environmental Working Group analysis of FDA data found that perchlorate 
levels as low as 4 parts per billion (ppb) in tap water could expose the 
average two-year-old to an unsafe dose of the rocket fuel contaminant 
every single day.

FDA's finding of high food exposures for small children makes clean up 
of perchlorate-contaminated water imperative. Perchlorate in tap water 
can be controlled through filtration and clean up. Perchlorate in food 
is harder to manage because the source of contamination is not clear, 
although contaminated irrigation water is one known source where levels 
could be reduced.

"Every final or proposed water standard for perchlorate fails to provide 
adequate protection for children," said Dr. Anila Jacob, MD, a senior 
scientist at EWG. "An average two-year-old drinking water with 4 ppb 
perchlorate will exceed the EPA's safe dose. New Jersey has set a 
standard at 5 ppb, California is at 6 ppb, and the EPA has issued a 
clean up standard of 24 ppb, nowhere near a level protective of children."

Not only do children have higher exposures to perchlorate when compared 
with adults, they are also particularly susceptible to its adverse 
effects. Perchlorate acts by inhibiting the thyroid gland from taking up 
iodine from the circulation. Since iodine is the building block for 
thyroid hormone, perchlorate exposure can result in decreased thyroid 
hormone production by the thyroid gland. Adequate circulating levels of 
thyroid hormones are critical to maintaining normal growth and brain 
development during childhood.

"Pervasive perchlorate contamination of food underscores the need for a 
tough national drinking water standard to protect children. We need to 
take every action we can to minimize perchlorate exposures, and tough 
tap water standards are the logical first step. If we fail to act, we 
will needlessly expose millions of children to dangerous levels of this 
potent toxic compound," said Dr. Anila Jacob, MD - a Senior Scientist 
with EWG.

A recent report from the US Government Accountability Office finds that 
28 states have communities in which perchlorate contaminates drinking 
water supplies at levels of 4 ppb or higher.

###

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 analysis of the FDA study is available online 
at http://www.ewg.org/node/25875 [1]

For the original press release, go to
http://www.ewg.org/node/25877


-- 


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
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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