News Coverage
Rocket Fuel Chemical in California Milk
Published June 22, 2004
Children in Southern California are drinking milk that contains levels of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient called perchlorate that exceed federal health recommendations, says a report released Monday by the Environmental Working Group.
The group sampled 33 well-known milk brands sold in Los Angeles and Orange County supermarkets. All but one contained perchlorate, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Children aged 1 to 5 who drink between one and two cups of these brands of milk a day are ingesting daily amounts of perchlorate that exceed levels recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Perchlorate has contaminated water supplies in 29 states. Studies in animals suggest that small amounts of perchlorate may disrupt thyroid hormones that regulate brain development.
"Our findings are not a call for California mothers to stop drinking milk or stop giving it to their children," Bill Walker, vice president of Environmental Working Group, told the Times. "They do show that the state must set a drinking water standard that fully protects public health. Mothers should not be forced to wonder if milk is affecting their child's growth and development."