Post by RocketFuel on Jun 23, 2004 6:25:41 GMT -8
Milk from state cows laced with perchlorate
By Karen Rubin , Staff Writer
Children and pregnant women who drink milk from California cows may be exposed to an unsafe level of a toxic chemical used in rocket fuel, according to a new study.
The study by the Environmental Working Group was released Tuesday and showed that 32 samples of milk purchased in stores in Los Angeles and Orange counties contained levels of perchlorate, spokesman Bill Walker said.
The average level of the chemical was 1.3 parts per billion above the 1 part per billion which is considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Milk sampled in Orange County had lower amounts of the chemical than milk sampled in Los Angeles.
"Perchlorate exposure is more widespread than we have been led to believe,' Walker said. "We hope that state and federal regulators will look at this information and take it into account when setting perchlorate standards.'
The study did not determine how the chemical gets into milk. But dairy officials say cows drink contaminated water.
Walker and others say they aren't calling for Californians to stop drinking milk or feeding it to their children, but are advocating for tougher standards for perchlorate, a derivative of rocket fuel.
Local dairies in El Monte and Industry say the contamination is unacceptable.
"I see it as something that needs to be corrected,' said Jim Dolan, the president of the El Monte-based Driftwood Dairy, which bottles a million gallons of milk a month. "It's in the vegetables and water, and we are not happy about it.'
Driftwood Dairy provides milk to local grocery stores and many school districts. Dolan says his company gets its milk from the San Joaquin Valley. It is trucked down to El Monte, where every tank of milk is tested.
Ralphs and Vons bottle their own milk.
Officials at Alta Dena Dairy in Industry declined to comment.
Maxine Sacanli-Hicks of the Covina-Valley Unified School District says she wants to see more studies about chemicals in milk. At this point, federal school meal regulations mandate milk be served to each child at breakfast and lunch, she said.
Phyllis Bramson-Paul, the state's director of nutrition services for the California Department of Education, says the issue is being examined by state health authorities.
"Children need to consume milk and it is advisable that children continue to consume milk,' she said.
The Dairy Institute of California, which represents some 20 independent processors, says milk comes from cows all over the state. They drink water polluted with perchlorate and eat alfalfa that is grown in water contaminated with the chemical, said Rachel Kaldor, executive director of the institute.
"We are not recommending that you stop drinking milk,' she said. "It is more of a concern of the long-term exposure from a variety of different sources. This is one more area of contamination and it needs to be cleaned up.'
Michael Payne, a veterinary toxicologist at UC Davis, said there is no need for parents to change their children's diet. Milk is rich in vitamins, protein and calcium.
"We must put this in perspective,' he said. "We are talking about a trace amount, like dissolving a sugar cube into an oil tanker. These are minute levels and the dangers are theoretical.'
California, historically, is a hot spot for perchlorate contamination.
The San Gabriel Valley was placed on a federal high-priority list in 1984 because it was in need of cleanup. The chemical has contaminated the Colorado River, the major source of drinking water and irrigation in Southern California. The California Department of Food and Agriculture also tested perchlorate in milk silos in Alameda, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. Those tests found an average level of 5.8 parts per billion of perchlorate in 34 samples it tested.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this story. Karen Rubin can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2109, or by e-mail at karen.rubin@sgvn.com .
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2228795,00.html
By Karen Rubin , Staff Writer
Children and pregnant women who drink milk from California cows may be exposed to an unsafe level of a toxic chemical used in rocket fuel, according to a new study.
The study by the Environmental Working Group was released Tuesday and showed that 32 samples of milk purchased in stores in Los Angeles and Orange counties contained levels of perchlorate, spokesman Bill Walker said.
The average level of the chemical was 1.3 parts per billion above the 1 part per billion which is considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Milk sampled in Orange County had lower amounts of the chemical than milk sampled in Los Angeles.
"Perchlorate exposure is more widespread than we have been led to believe,' Walker said. "We hope that state and federal regulators will look at this information and take it into account when setting perchlorate standards.'
The study did not determine how the chemical gets into milk. But dairy officials say cows drink contaminated water.
Walker and others say they aren't calling for Californians to stop drinking milk or feeding it to their children, but are advocating for tougher standards for perchlorate, a derivative of rocket fuel.
Local dairies in El Monte and Industry say the contamination is unacceptable.
"I see it as something that needs to be corrected,' said Jim Dolan, the president of the El Monte-based Driftwood Dairy, which bottles a million gallons of milk a month. "It's in the vegetables and water, and we are not happy about it.'
Driftwood Dairy provides milk to local grocery stores and many school districts. Dolan says his company gets its milk from the San Joaquin Valley. It is trucked down to El Monte, where every tank of milk is tested.
Ralphs and Vons bottle their own milk.
Officials at Alta Dena Dairy in Industry declined to comment.
Maxine Sacanli-Hicks of the Covina-Valley Unified School District says she wants to see more studies about chemicals in milk. At this point, federal school meal regulations mandate milk be served to each child at breakfast and lunch, she said.
Phyllis Bramson-Paul, the state's director of nutrition services for the California Department of Education, says the issue is being examined by state health authorities.
"Children need to consume milk and it is advisable that children continue to consume milk,' she said.
The Dairy Institute of California, which represents some 20 independent processors, says milk comes from cows all over the state. They drink water polluted with perchlorate and eat alfalfa that is grown in water contaminated with the chemical, said Rachel Kaldor, executive director of the institute.
"We are not recommending that you stop drinking milk,' she said. "It is more of a concern of the long-term exposure from a variety of different sources. This is one more area of contamination and it needs to be cleaned up.'
Michael Payne, a veterinary toxicologist at UC Davis, said there is no need for parents to change their children's diet. Milk is rich in vitamins, protein and calcium.
"We must put this in perspective,' he said. "We are talking about a trace amount, like dissolving a sugar cube into an oil tanker. These are minute levels and the dangers are theoretical.'
California, historically, is a hot spot for perchlorate contamination.
The San Gabriel Valley was placed on a federal high-priority list in 1984 because it was in need of cleanup. The chemical has contaminated the Colorado River, the major source of drinking water and irrigation in Southern California. The California Department of Food and Agriculture also tested perchlorate in milk silos in Alameda, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. Those tests found an average level of 5.8 parts per billion of perchlorate in 34 samples it tested.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this story. Karen Rubin can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2109, or by e-mail at karen.rubin@sgvn.com .
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2228795,00.html