Should you be concerned about the neurotoxic effects of perchlorate in your water supply? Perchlorate is the explosive ingredient in rocket and missile fuel. It finds its way into the environment from military bases as well as defense and aerospace contractors’ plants. Recently the EPA took a stand on the 22nd of September, stating that present levels of perchlorate levels are, well, acceptable. Scientists disagree. Here’s brief commentary from the Washington Post about the event, you decide:
The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.
The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a “meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems.”
The Senate’s environmental chair, Sen. Barbara Boxer, considers the perchlorate situation “a widespread contamination problem” and that the response delivered by the EPA was “shocking.”
Approximately 20 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate via drinking water and ground and soil contamination. More importantly, Americans, whose direct water supply is not contaminated, test positive for the pollutant, indicating that exposure is ubiquitous. Not surprisingly, perchlorate is a toxin. It affects the thyroid gland, which is in charge of regulating growth, development, and metabolism. Perchlorate compromises the thyroid’s ability to take up iodine. Low thyroid function in adults results in fatigue, depression, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hair loss, and low libido.
Especially vulnerable to the effects of perchlorate are pregnant women and their children. During the first trimester, a fetus is completely dependent on mom for thyroid hormones. Intellectual and behavioral deficits can result from iodine or hypothyroid problems during pregnancy. Breast milk is also a major exposure route for babies. A Boston study conducted with 49 women showed perchlorate in all samples even though the water supply is not known to be contaminated.
Why should this information cause concern?
Fetal and infant development could be affected and some of these consequences may be permanent. Ambiguous symptoms similar to low thyroid are surprisingly common and difficult to treat as well as determine cause. It is unlikely that any one specific chemical is to blame due to the fact that we are not exposed to only one chemical at a time. Simply because a chemical cannot be definitively linked to health problems does not mean that we should not be concerned. It is also impossible to research how perchlorate might interact with the rest of the chemical pollutants sloshing around our bodies.
The more informed we are about our uncontrolled exposures, the more effective we can be about in our world. This is incredibly important considering the organizations that are in charge of protecting public health routinely fail to err on the side of better safe than sorry.