Chemicals found in infant formula

Bill WolfeEPA Administrator Lisa Jackson pledged at her Senate confirmation hearing that she would address perchlorate. EPA did not respond to requests today for comment

New federal Centers for Disease Control sampling finds Perchlorate in US infant formula – EPA has no comment
New developments vindicate what we previously wrote about the toxic chemical perchlorate back in in January:
Rocket Fuel in your water?
DEP Ignored Scientists Warnings and Failed to Regulate Perchlorate in drinking water – Lisa Jackson to be asked why

http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2009/01/rocket_fuel_in_your_water.html
Playing Politics with your drinking water
http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2009/01/playing_politics_with_your_dri.html
To DEP’s credit, on March 16, 2009, they finally proposed regulations that would establish new drinking water standards for perchlorate. Those rules are now open for public comment – see:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/notices/031609a.html
Vindicating those concerns, at the national level, today there is hot news on perchlorate and EPA. See this from “E&E reporter” (a beltway trade journal).
CHEMICALS: Perchlorate found in infant formula — CDC (04/03/2009)
Sara Goodman, E&E reporter
Samples of powdered infant formula contain trace levels of a rocket fuel ingredient, a federal study has found.
(Click here to read the study.
http://www.nature.com/jes/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/jes200918a.html
(more)
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested infant formula for traces of perchlorate because of concerns that the chemical can damage thyroid function. Their findings were published last month in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.
Perchlorate has been found in the drinking water of at least 35 states and the District of Columbia. The chemical can inhibit the thyroid gland’s iodine uptake, interfering with fetal development.
The highest levels of perchlorate were found in formulas derived from cow’s milk, the researchers found. They also looked at soy-based formulas, as well as formulas from lactose-free cow’s milk and synthetic amino acids. They declined to say which brands they tested, but said each one contained detectable levels.
The study does not answer questions about how traces of perchlorate affect human health. Some factors could offset the chemical, including the presence of iodine. An infant’s weight and formula consumption can also influence risk.
The researchers also offered several caveats for understanding the results, including the scope of the study. The samples were all taken from one city, meaning the results might not apply nationwide.
But some groups are pointing to the findings as evidence that the government needs to set a more stringent perchlorate health advisory level.
“Infants fed cow’s milk-based powdered formula could be exposed to perchlorate from two sources — tap water and formula,” said Anila Jacob, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group. “That suggests that millions of American babies are potentially at risk.”
Jacob’s group is urging U.S. EPA to regulate perchlorate in water. Last year, the agency said it saw no need for such regulations because they would offer no “meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction.”
But EPA in January delayed deciding on regulation until the National Academy of Sciences studies the matter.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the CDC study puts further pressure on EPA to set a safe drinking water standard. Boxer introduced legislation last year aimed at limiting the amount of perchlorate in drinking water and requiring some public water systems to monitor it and inform the public of any contamination.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson pledged at her Senate confirmation hearing that she would address perchlorate. EPA did not respond to requests today for comment.
Click here to read the study.
http://www.nature.com/jes/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/jes200918a.html
Our warnings on perchlorate were ignored by NJ media, including the Star ledger, back in January – will we be ignored again?
Lisa Jackson dodged a bullet back in January – will she get a pass again?
I can’t see how this story can be ignored now.
If these chemicals came from some rogue Chinese factory, the story would be page one.
But chemicals in US cows milk and infant formula is not coming from toxic imports from China. No, those chemicals are originating right here in the good ole USA!
We’ll keep you posted!