EWG News release
Environmental Working Group's Statement in Support of the "Safe Drinking Water for Healthy Communities Act of 2007" Introduced Today by Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis
Statement by Anila Jacob, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Scientist with the Environmental Working Group
"Tests by the CDC and independent researchers have confirmed that many Americans are carrying the rocket fuel ingredient, perchlorate, in their bodies in amounts that lower thyroid hormone levels, in some cases substantially. This rocket fuel ingredient has been found as a contaminant in drinking water supplies nationwide. Even more troubling, recent studies have shown that infants and children, who are more vulnerable to changes in thyroid hormone levels, are exposed to significantly more rocket fuel than are adults.
Because normal thyroid hormone levels are essential for healthy metabolism and development, it is imperative that the federal government set a health-protective drinking water standard for rocket fuel. Representative Solis' bill will require the Environmental Protection Agency to finally enact this important public health measure."
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EWG is a not-for-profit research organization that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. EWG's work on rocket fuel can be viewed at http://ewg.org/reports/thyroidthreat/