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News Coverage

Rocket fuel ingredient may affect thyroid

United Press International, Staff
Published October 5, 2006

ATLANTA, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. women, particularly those with low iodine intake, may have reduced thyroid function due to perchlorate exposure, not found in men, a study found. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta examined 2,299 men and women ages 12 and older who participated in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2002. Examining the relationship between perchlorate concentrations in urine and concentrations of the thyroid hormones thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone in blood, the researchers observed that perchlorate was a significant predictor of thyroid hormone levels in women, but not in men, according to the study published on the Web site www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9466/9466.pdf. This study is the first to examine women with lower iodine levels for a potential effect of perchlorate on thyroid function, say the CDC researchers. Perchlorate's main use is as an oxidizer in solid rocket fuels, but it is also used in explosives, road flares and pyrotechnics.
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