Jet Fuel Additive May Be In Food Supply
WISN TV Milwaukee ABC, Staff
Published May 14, 2007
Watch the video here:
http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/video/13332584/detail.html
It's nothing to panic about, but there is cause for concern -- especially
for some woman and children -- regarding a chemical that may be in the food
you eat.
It's called perchlorate, a powdery substance that's an essential ingredient
in rocket fuel and fireworks.
Waukesha's Bartolotta Fireworks Company uses the chemical. Their location is
the only known site in Wisconsin where perchlorate is currently being used.
Perchlorate is part of the company's pyrotechnic displays, but it's a
different type of chemical, and most experts agree that contamination from
fireworks is very small compared to that of the military and NASA.
It's been used for dozens of defense and space agency sites and now the
contaminant has turned up in groundwater in about 20 states.
From groundwater, it's made its way into drinking water and into the
nation's food supply through crops and livestock.
"It looks like there's 100 percent exposure to the U.S. population to this
rocket fuel contaminant," Richard Wiles with the Environmental Working Group
said.
Wiles heads the Washington, D.C. advocacy program and is pushing for
stricter government guidelines.
"The shocking thing is that it appears to be very widespread in the food
supply. No one knows for sure, because the FDA has not done the studies they
need to do to document its complete presence in the food supply," Wiles
said.
Wiles said the situation is "very serious," especially, he said, "when you
have millions of women potentially entering pregnancies with lower thyroid
hormone levels.
That's the concern. The health risk to most adults in minimal, but
perchlorate can affect thyroid hormone levels, which in a fetus or newborn
baby, can inhibit brain development. That means pregnant women and nursing
mothers need to be aware.
"We don't think people should panic," Wiles said, "but you do have to take
this one seriously."
Perchlorate has not shown up in Wisconsin's groundwater, although testing
here has been limited.
The Environmental Working Group lists one Wisconsin site, the former Badger
Ammunition plant near Baraboo, as a location that urgently needs more
testing.
Environmental and health groups say the federal government isn't doing
enough to protect citizens from perchlorate, and those groups have taken
their case to Congress.
Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin is a member of a House committee that, earlier
this month, conducted a hearing into the potential health risks imposed by
the contaminant.
Baldwin said the testimony was alarming.
"It's very disturbing, especially since the government bears the primary
responsibility for this substance being in the environment in the first
place," Baldwin said.
Baldwin has signed onto a bill calling for stricter drinking water
guidelines for perchlorate and, although Wisconsin is not identified as a
primary state for contamination, she believes more should be done to ensure
that our soil and water are safe. Contamination has been found in California
and Texas; two states from where we get much of our food.
"Especially in Department of Defense sites in the state, I think we should
probably -- well not probably -- we should be testing," Baldwin said.
A perchlorate expert said, however, that there's a catch.
Whitefish Bay chemist Roger Schneider is a consultant to the fireworks
industry and has been studying the effects of perchlorate for more than a
decade. He said not only is testing expensive, but tightening the drinking
water standards would send cleanup costs for the rocket fuel component
soaring.
"We're talking thousand-fold increases in the cost of cleanup," Schneider
said.
Schneider said he believes the problem can be addressed simply by alerting
the at-risk population -- pregnant women and new moms -- to the health
risks.
Environmentalists, meanwhile, continue to push for stricter drinking water
guidelines, but agree that more information for woman in the at-risk group,
about the fuel in our food and water, would be a good start.
"We need advice from the FDA for pregnant women as to how eat their way
around rocket fuel in the food supply. It's doable, they just need to get
off the dime and do it," Wiles said.
It's unclear how widespread the contamination to the food supply is.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested nearly 3,000 people
from across the country a few years ago and found perchlorate levels in
every one of them.
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Jet Fuel Additive May Be In Food Supply
WISN TV Milwaukee ABC, Staff
Published May 14, 2007
Watch the video here:
http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/video/13332584/detail.html
It's nothing to panic about, but there is cause for concern -- especially
for some woman and children -- regarding a chemical that may be in the food
you eat.
It's called perchlorate, a powdery substance that's an essential ingredient
in rocket fuel and fireworks.
Waukesha's Bartolotta Fireworks Company uses the chemical. Their location is
the only known site in Wisconsin where perchlorate is currently being used.
Perchlorate is part of the company's pyrotechnic displays, but it's a
different type of chemical, and most experts agree that contamination from
fireworks is very small compared to that of the military and NASA.
It's been used for dozens of defense and space agency sites and now the
contaminant has turned up in groundwater in about 20 states.
From groundwater, it's made its way into drinking water and into the
nation's food supply through crops and livestock.
"It looks like there's 100 percent exposure to the U.S. population to this
rocket fuel contaminant," Richard Wiles with the Environmental Working Group
said.
Wiles heads the Washington, D.C. advocacy program and is pushing for
stricter government guidelines.
"The shocking thing is that it appears to be very widespread in the food
supply. No one knows for sure, because the FDA has not done the studies they
need to do to document its complete presence in the food supply," Wiles
said.
Wiles said the situation is "very serious," especially, he said, "when you
have millions of women potentially entering pregnancies with lower thyroid
hormone levels.
That's the concern. The health risk to most adults in minimal, but
perchlorate can affect thyroid hormone levels, which in a fetus or newborn
baby, can inhibit brain development. That means pregnant women and nursing
mothers need to be aware.
"We don't think people should panic," Wiles said, "but you do have to take
this one seriously."
Perchlorate has not shown up in Wisconsin's groundwater, although testing
here has been limited.
The Environmental Working Group lists one Wisconsin site, the former Badger
Ammunition plant near Baraboo, as a location that urgently needs more
testing.
Environmental and health groups say the federal government isn't doing
enough to protect citizens from perchlorate, and those groups have taken
their case to Congress.
Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin is a member of a House committee that, earlier
this month, conducted a hearing into the potential health risks imposed by
the contaminant.
Baldwin said the testimony was alarming.
"It's very disturbing, especially since the government bears the primary
responsibility for this substance being in the environment in the first
place," Baldwin said.
Baldwin has signed onto a bill calling for stricter drinking water
guidelines for perchlorate and, although Wisconsin is not identified as a
primary state for contamination, she believes more should be done to ensure
that our soil and water are safe. Contamination has been found in California
and Texas; two states from where we get much of our food.
"Especially in Department of Defense sites in the state, I think we should
probably -- well not probably -- we should be testing," Baldwin said.
A perchlorate expert said, however, that there's a catch.
Whitefish Bay chemist Roger Schneider is a consultant to the fireworks
industry and has been studying the effects of perchlorate for more than a
decade. He said not only is testing expensive, but tightening the drinking
water standards would send cleanup costs for the rocket fuel component
soaring.
"We're talking thousand-fold increases in the cost of cleanup," Schneider
said.
Schneider said he believes the problem can be addressed simply by alerting
the at-risk population -- pregnant women and new moms -- to the health
risks.
Environmentalists, meanwhile, continue to push for stricter drinking water
guidelines, but agree that more information for woman in the at-risk group,
about the fuel in our food and water, would be a good start.
"We need advice from the FDA for pregnant women as to how eat their way
around rocket fuel in the food supply. It's doable, they just need to get
off the dime and do it," Wiles said.
It's unclear how widespread the contamination to the food supply is.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested nearly 3,000 people
from across the country a few years ago and found perchlorate levels in
every one of them.
Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Delete This Article
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