Re: [CPEO-MEF] House Democrat urges EPA to set perchlorate standard

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

 From a federal employee:

Lenny: See article below and post by Laura Olah. This is the kind of 
incomplete and biased reporting that is disturbing to those of us trying 
to do the right thing and provide accurate information. People are 
repeating EWG releases without reading and understanding the full report.

Note this paragraph:

"At issue is a recent Food and Drug Administration study that found high 
levels of the chemical, a component of rocket fuel, is harmful to 
children and pregnant women and can inhibit thyroid function. FDA tested 
285 common foods and beverages in its annual dietary study and found 
perchlorate in 74 percent of the items examined."

These two statements when strung together paint a false picture and 
mislead the public. Also, the FDA study was primarily on food sources 
not the health effects. Here's what I would have reported:

  "Studies by the Center for Disease Control and others have found that 
high levels of perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel, can be harmful 
to children and pregnant women by inhibiting thyroid function. The FDA 
tested 285 common foods and beverages in its annual dietary study and 
found perchlorate in 74 percent of the items examined.  However, the 
study stressed that in all age groups tested, the levels in food were 
well below the safe amount, or "reference dose", established by EPA and 
based on a review of the science by the National Academy of Sciences."

Gee, an incredibly important fact to citizens was left out.  Yes, there 
is a drinking water contribution but it's small in the US.  EPA can 
account for that in setting a health advisory or MCL.

I urge you to provide the full facts.

************************************************************
House Democrat urges EPA to set perchlorate standard (01/23/2008)

Katherine Boyle, E&ENews PM reporter The chairman of the House 
Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee is urging U.S. EPA to 
set a national standard for perchlorate in drinking water.

At issue is a recent Food and Drug Administration study that found high 
levels of the chemical, a component of rocket fuel, is harmful to 
children and pregnant women and can inhibit thyroid function. FDA tested 
285 common foods and beverages in its annual dietary study and found 
perchlorate in 74 percent of the items examined.

"The publication of the FDA study leaves no doubt that a standard 
limiting the amount of perchlorate in our nation's drinking water is 
warranted without further delay," the subcommittee chairman, Maryland 
Democrat Al Wynn, said in a statement yesterday.

…


FDA Study Supports a Low Federal Perchlorate Standard

According to an article in InsideEPA.com this week, new FDA data 
suggests that EPA's national drinking water standard for perchlorate 
should not exceed state standards. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
study shows that widespread perchlorate contamination in food is 
evidence that EPA must set a national drinking water standard for the 
rocket fuel chemical that is more stringent than most state-set standards.

The newly-released FDA research, known as the Total Diet Study, is the 
first comprehensive look at perchlorate in food, and shows a wide 
variety of contaminated food. The study, published earlier this month in 
the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, found 
that across a wide range of age groups, perchlorate exposure from food 
consumption ranged from 0.08 to 0.39 micrograms per kilogram (ug/kg) 
body weight per day. For two-year old children, the study found an 
average intake from food of 0.35 -- 0.39 ug/kg.

House Democrats, led by Reps. Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Albert Wynn (D-MD), 
are also trying to push a bill through Congress that would require EPA 
to set the perchlorate MCL by a date certain. While the bill, H.R. 1747, 
passed out of the House Energy & Commerce Committee in 2007, a committee 
aide says it has not yet been placed on the full committee's calendar 
for action.


From: Laura Olah
Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay
South Merrimac, WI 53561
Email: info@cswab.org
Website: www.cswab.org




-- 


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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