Rocket Fuel Found in Baby Formula

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study in March 2009 that stated the government agency has discovered that traces of a chemical, perchlorate, which is also used in rocket fuel, were found in 15 different brands of powdered baby formulas.

Perchlorate can form naturally, mostly in areas with light rainfall, but it is most often created through manufacturing and is used in rocket fuel, explosives, and fireworks. There are currently 36 known U.S. states that contain facilities that use percholate as part of their manufacturing process. The amounts discovered in the baby formula were of abnormally high levels and could pose a potential threat to the children ingesting the formula. The threat is heightened if the powdered formula is mixed with water also contaminated with perchlorate, which has been found in the drinking water supplies of many U.S. cities and in the ground water of 43 states.

Though it has yet to be proven, scientists speculate that high levels of perchlorate can cause thyroid problems. In an adult, thyroid issues can interfere with metabolism, but in a child, thyroid problems can severely affect brain development.

The amount of percholate found in powdered infant formula are highest in those that are cow's milk based, and scientists are unsure of how, or if, these elevated amounts of the chemicals will affect children. Because the effects of percholate are countered by iodine, and baby formula is by law required to contain iodine, the hazards may be insignificant. Recent studies have also shown that percholate is neither stored in the body nor metabolized, which means that the risks posed by the chemical may cease or even reverse once percholate is removed from the body. The American Thyroid Association has also recently suggested that the chemical may not be as harmful to adults or children as previously suspected, though research has shown that percholate can greatly inhibit the body's absorption of iodine, even in what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined to be acceptable doses. In response to some studies of percholate in drinking and groundwater, the EPA is now considering altering the limits of allowable amounts of percholate, though some states have already chosen to impose their own.

Drink Your Rocket Fuel?

A report released from the National Academy of Sciences in 2005 raises the safe allowable limits of rocket fuel pollution in drinking water by 20 times. The pollutant in rocket fuel is a chemical called perchlorate and environmentalists claim that no amount of it in drinking water or crops is acceptable. Everything is being pushed under the rug because no one knows how to get rid of it from the water supply. Environmentalists are accusing the government of not supporting safe drinking water.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group claims perchlorate affects thyroid function and says the government as set no limits on how much is safe and other groups are loudly proclaiming that it could harm wild animals, fish stock, animal and birds in the food chain and pregnant women and their babies.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the US sets guidelines for such things as contaminants found in drinking water. They were shocked to find that the National Academy of Sciences in their National Research Council report stated that people would be safe by drinking up to 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram of perchlorate without harm. This is 20 times the concentration suggested by the EPA.

The EPA produces risk assessment reports that try to keep populations safe. In their 2002 report, they suggest a safe dosage of 0.00003 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This is essentially around 1 part per billion based on average body size and drinking water consumption.

Everyone seems to agree that perchlorate causes hypothyroidism and that it needs to be prevented but there is no clear support for a solution for removing it from the water supply. There is not enough evidence from any research that suggests this chemical could cause thyroid cancer.

The most alarming evidence from scientists is that perchlorate even at very low levels can harm babies health. They are shouting this evidence as loudly as they can as there are strong-arm tactics to shut up them up as politicians and bureaucrats try to bury their report. It is turning ugly politically.

Scientists are claiming that it is up to the government to protect the health of the population but it seems that the science is being skewed and the clean-up avoided. No one is accepting responsibility.
Apparently, perchlorate has been found in the drinking water in 35 states in concentrations as high as 4 parts per billion. In some areas it is even higher. It is estimated that more than 11 million people have water they should not even come in contact with.

It would be interesting to find out if people know their water is contaminated and whether they are taking it seriously. Since there are only 50 states in the union, there aren't many places left that don't have rocket fuel in the water. These days, the situation doesn't seem to be getting any better. Is there anywhere left where the water is even drinkable?