Studies Being Done to Determine Long-Term Effects of Small Amounts of Perchlorate on Human Health

ABCNews.com, April 28, 2007


Perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, is turning up in the nation's food -- in vegetables like lettuce and spinach -- and water supply.

You've never heard of it? Most Americans haven't, but millions have been exposed to it. This week Congress held hearings to determine just how dangerous it is to humans' health.

"A study from the Centers for Disease Control last year tested almost 3,000 people who are representative of the U.S. population. They found perchlorate in every single person," said Dr. Anila Jacob of the Environmental Working Group.

so how did something used to launch inter-continental missiles and the space shuttle find its way into our homes?

At a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce this week, a government report was made public for the first time revealing that at sites in more than 25 states, perchlorate had leaked into the drinking water and soil. About 65 percent of that contamination was attributed to the Department of Defense and to NASA.

The Pentagon said it has invested "over $114 million in research related to perchlorate toxicity," and that they are "developing substitute chemicals."

Doctors agree that large amounts of the chemical can lead to thyroid problems in adults and abnormal brain development in children, but it is still unknown how much damage smaller amounts can inflict.

"The developing fetus can have severe inhibition of brain development as a result of perchlorate intake by the mother through drinking water or through breast milk," Rep. Albert Wynn, D-Md. said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are working on a bill that would require the EPA for the first time to set strict guidelines limiting the amount of perchlorate in the nation's drinking water.

For now, more research is being done to determine if the amounts present today can cause any serious damage to people's health.



Personal Note: So, it's not enough that our food supply is already tainted to the point of 'deadly' from additives and industrial chemicals on the label! Now we have to worry about rocket fuel!? At the risk of sounding like an environmentalist wacko, too many people are sick and dying in this country because of diet... because the foods we eat are saturated with unnatural chemicals that the body can't assimilate... unnatural chemicals that the FDA ALLOWS in our food.

Want to know why Cancer is on the rise? Diabetes? Autism? Well, I'm no doctor, but commonsense says the only thing that's changed in the last 100 years is our diet, first and foremost, and our environment secondarily. The increase of disease and disease related death can only be attributed to one or the other.

Pick up a box of Hamburger Helper and read the label. How many of those ingredients do you actually recognize? Do you know what they are? How the body reacts to them? Is the body capable of assimilating them? Or must the body store them somewhere, where they build-up until....

What kills me [or rather, what's "killing" me] is the near complete myopic approach to "healing" western medicine practices. They go to schools that teach the "maintenace" of illnesses rather than "curing" disease.

Suggest to your family physician that you want to try a holistic approach to whatever ails you, and if you're a minor they'll take your parents to court and try to force deadly therapies on you. If you're an adult, they'll tell you that without such-and-such medications you will worsen and perhaps die. They'll tell you there is no cure for your disease. They amputate the wrong limbs, cut out the wrong kidneys, perform the wrong procedures, prescribe the wrong medicines... ruin or kill their patients... and they expect us to trust them with our lives, and take their word as though it came from God Himself.

Sorry. Not me. Not anymore. How is it we'll shop around for TV's, cars, and houses, but we won't shop around for doctors... we call an make appointments because someone recommended him or her. We'll traipse in and believe everything he or she tells us. Rarely getting second opinions. He gives us a prescription? We fill it, without question. He's a doctor after all! Well, I'll go to the doctor for bloodwork and check-ups but unless I'm having a stroke, heartattack, appendicitus, or any number of other immediate emergencies, I'll opt for the natural approach-- the body is designed to heal itself, provided it is healthy and has everything it needs to do so. But America food supply has advanced lightyears in terms of taste, and yet our foods have somehow become less and less nutritious as a result. We sacrifice quality for flavor, nutrition for a quick "pick-me-up" [Tiramisu... Yummmm!]

But realistically, why would any doctor wish to cure you of your disease? Especially when he can keep you in a maintenace-mode. Why would he wish to heal you and lose a patient? And the insurance money to cover all the tests and check-ups he puts you through?

The American Diabetes Association gets some of it's funding from the manufacturers of artificial sweeteners, which are hazardous to your health!

I'm beginning to rant... So I'll end it here, except to say, many of these people do not have your best interests at heart, but their own.