Rocket Fuel Fed to Newborns

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Rocket Fuel Fed to Newborns By Amit Asaravala

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,66699,00.htmlNursing mothers could inadvertently be feeding their newborns nearly twicethe recommended safe amount of perchlorate, a key ingredient of rocket fuel,according to a new study from Texas Tech University.Both a man-made and naturally occurring chemical, perchlorate in high dosesblocks the uptake of beneficial iodine in humans. Iodine deficiency has beenlinked to thyroid disorders in developing children, which can slow braindevelopment and lead to mental retardation.The Texas Tech study is the first to show that perchlorate is beingtransmitted directly from nursing mothers to their infants. If the findingscan be verified in a wider study, they could become the most powerful weaponyet in a fight led by environmental groups to clean upperchlorate-contaminated sites around the United States.The contamination is mostly caused by leaks and dumps at factories owned bythe aerospace and defense industry, according to the National Academy ofSciences. The perchlorate is then thought to seep into sources of publicdrinking water and irrigation channels. It has been found to contaminatewater supplies, lettuce and dairy milk."A national drinking water standard must be set promptly and all knownsources of contamination cleaned up," said the Washington, D.C.-basedEnvironmental Working Group in a statement issued Tuesday. "After years ofdelay in setting of safety standards and cleaning up contaminated sites, thehigh levels of perchlorate found in breast milk should be a wake-up call tostate regulators, U.S. EPA, the Department of Defense and the Bushadministration that no more delays can be tolerated."In an analysis of breast milk samples from 36 women in 18 states,researchers at Texas Tech found that all the samples had some level ofperchlorate contamination, with an average of 10.5 parts per billion. Undernew guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency, newborn infantsshould ingest no more than half that amount.One of the samples in the study, from a mother in New Jersey, was found tohave levels of perchlorate nearly 20 times the recommended limit fornewborns.The researchers found that higher levels of perchlorate in the breast milkwere linked to lower levels of iodide, the form of iodine found in the humanbody. Lower levels of iodide are thought to be linked to thyroid disordersin children.Though the team acknowledged that the study was too small for the results tobe applied to all nursing women in all states, they said the findingsstrongly suggest a need for pregnant and nursing women to increase theiriodine intake."It's not a unique occurrence," said lead researcher Purnendu Dasgupta, whoteaches analytical chemistry at the university. "I tell all my friends whoare pregnant to go to a health food store and get capsules of iodine. I tellthem to improve their iodine nutrition first and then worry aboutperchlorate."For its part, the EPA is being careful not to set a water quality standardthat is too low or high. The former could jeopardize the nation's health,while the latter could lead to billions of dollars in additional cleanupcosts.The agency's reference dose guideline, issued Friday, is the first step insetting a national water quality standard. A spokeswoman said it is unclearhow long the other steps will take.http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,66699,00.html