Infants Exposed to Unsafe Levels of Thyroid Toxin
WASHINGTON - April 2 - Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found that 15 brands of powdered infant formula are contaminated with perchlorate, a rocket fuel component detected in drinking water in 28 states and territories. The two most contaminated brands, made from cow's milk, accounted for 87 percent of the U.S. powdered formula market in 2000, the scientists said.
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The long-delayed legislation, now headed for the president's desk, also gives 27,000 acres around Pleasant View Ridge in the San Gabriel Mountains, and 2 million acres nationwide, wilderness protection - the highest protection under federal law.
"I am extremely thrilled. This is a huge step forward," said Grace Kast, executive director of the San Read more
In the Senate, Richard Bryan worked to safeguard Nevada's water supply. Then he became a lobbyist for the chemical firms that contaminated it.
A decade ago, Nevada's congressional delegation won a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund drinking-water improvements in rural areas of the state. The aim was to ensure the water supply in these locales was free of dangerous levels of various chemicals, including the rocket-fuel additive perchlorate, a potential health hazard. The amount of money was
Dangerous Levels of Rocket Fuel Chemical That Causes Thyroid Problems Will Remain in Water
According to a story in the Washington Post, "EPA Unlikely to Limit Perchlorate in Tap Water", the EPA is just about to announce a ruling that it will not set a drinking-water safety standard for perchlorate. Perchlorate is a by-product of rocket fuel production that has been shown to cause thyroid problems in pregnant women, infants and children. The Washington
Read moreWASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.
EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press.
The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.
The EPA document
Read moreFor the first time, scientists have compared a woman's daily intake of iodine and perchlorate with the concentrations of each in her breast milk. They found that a small proportion (about 20%) of iodine enters the breast milk compared with a higher proportion (more than 50%) of perchlorate. Although not definitive, experts say the study, published in ES&T (DOI 10.1021/es801549w ), provides further evidence that iodine intake in U.S. mothers is low and that perchlorate could be a problem for newborns.
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WASHINGTON - An EPA official said Tuesday there's a "distinct possibility" the agency won't take action to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has contaminated public water supplies around the country.
Democratic senators called that unacceptable. They argued that states and local communities shouldn't have to bear the expense of cleansing their drinking water of perchlorate, which has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states - or the risk of not doing so.
The toxin interferes with thyroid function and poses
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for Perchlorate