The CDC released a report awhile back that not many people noticed. It revealed that perchlorate, a rocket fuel chemical, is in some baby formulas and in drinking water. The chemical is a byproduct of the Cold War era rocket and missile tests (another lesson in all actions having far and wide reaching results, even decades later).
The Environmental Working Group is drawing attention to this report, especially in light of our new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's pledge to set standards for this chemical in public water supplies.
The trouble with ingesting rocket fuel (other than the obvious-- it can't be good for you! -- response):
According to the EWG, "Studies have established that the chemical is a potent thyroid toxin that may interfere with fetal and infant brain development (Kirk 2006).
The CDC team warned that mixing perchlorate-tainted formula powder with tap water containing “even minimal amounts” of the chemical could boost the resulting mixture’s toxin content above the level the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers safe. Many scientists contend that the EPA “safe” level is too high to protect public health."
Multiple exposures, from multiple sources. Has anyone heard me mention this concept before?
What the EPA considers "safe" is being questioned. Especially for teeny babies. Again according to the EWG, "The risk to infants being fed cow's milk-based formula may be even greater than the CDC assessment suggests. A CDC study in 2006 found that trace perchlorate exposure considerably below the EPA’s “safe” level (0.7 micrograms of perchlorate per kilogram of body weight per day, called the reference dose, or RfD) altered women’s thyroid hormone levels (Blount et al 2006a).
What to do? Well, contact new EPA head Lisa Jackson, and ask her to set new standards for perchlorate in drinking water. The EWG recommends more action steps, including contacting your infant formula about perchlorate. The CDC doesn't list the brands it tested (boy, is that mighty unhelpful!), but at least this way we know we can't shop our way out of the problem.
