Rocket Fuel In Milk Bought In Virginia
(Consumer News, VA, November 30th, 2004, 9:47 p.m.) Government researchers have found elevated levels of toxic rocket fuel in milk bought at Virginia stores, according to FDA records released this week.
The findings were part of a broad search to determine if chemicals used for more than 50 years in solid-rocket fuel and fireworks had infiltrated the nation's food supply. The study followed research last year by an environmental watchdog group that found rocket-fuel chemicals in California lettuce. Government researchers collected 500 samples of lettuce, milk and bottled water from more than a dozen states.
The results noted perchlorate in virtually all the lettuce and milk. In high doses, perchlorate affects thyroid function. Researchers tested three samples of Virginia milk and noted perchlorate levels near or exceeding seven parts-per-billion. While there is no nationally-mandated limits, Massachusetts caps concentration at one part-per-billion; California, six.
A part-per-billion is roughly a drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The Virginia milk contained among the highest chemical concentrations. "We think it is a concern," said Bill Walker of the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based watchdog organization that has studied the problem for a year. "This is something that should be addressed at the national level."
Neither Walker nor a spokeswoman for Food and Drug Administration used the findings to urge diet changes. Both said until more research is done, a balanced diet including greens and milk is still recommended. "There are some people out there who eat a tremendous amount of lettuce, and drink a tremendous amount of milk, and they're not all kids, they are women of child-bearing age," Walker said.
"Some of those people might want to think twice about the levels of their consumption of those items, but we certainly aren't recommending that they stop eating them." Why the Virginia milk samples were higher than most others is a mystery. Walker said perchlorate typically ends up in milk when cows eat contaminated alfalfa or drink contaminated water.
Generally high levels of perchlorate were also found in areas that serve, or did serve, as military bases or storage areas, Walker said. In Virginia, government records show perchlorate has been stored at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant and at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. It has also been stored at sites in Duffield and Gainesville, records show.
(Consumer News, VA, November 30th, 2004, 9:47 p.m.) Government researchers have found elevated levels of toxic rocket fuel in milk bought at Virginia stores, according to FDA records released this week.
The findings were part of a broad search to determine if chemicals used for more than 50 years in solid-rocket fuel and fireworks had infiltrated the nation's food supply. The study followed research last year by an environmental watchdog group that found rocket-fuel chemicals in California lettuce. Government researchers collected 500 samples of lettuce, milk and bottled water from more than a dozen states.
The results noted perchlorate in virtually all the lettuce and milk. In high doses, perchlorate affects thyroid function. Researchers tested three samples of Virginia milk and noted perchlorate levels near or exceeding seven parts-per-billion. While there is no nationally-mandated limits, Massachusetts caps concentration at one part-per-billion; California, six.
A part-per-billion is roughly a drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The Virginia milk contained among the highest chemical concentrations. "We think it is a concern," said Bill Walker of the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based watchdog organization that has studied the problem for a year. "This is something that should be addressed at the national level."
Neither Walker nor a spokeswoman for Food and Drug Administration used the findings to urge diet changes. Both said until more research is done, a balanced diet including greens and milk is still recommended. "There are some people out there who eat a tremendous amount of lettuce, and drink a tremendous amount of milk, and they're not all kids, they are women of child-bearing age," Walker said.
"Some of those people might want to think twice about the levels of their consumption of those items, but we certainly aren't recommending that they stop eating them." Why the Virginia milk samples were higher than most others is a mystery. Walker said perchlorate typically ends up in milk when cows eat contaminated alfalfa or drink contaminated water.
Generally high levels of perchlorate were also found in areas that serve, or did serve, as military bases or storage areas, Walker said. In Virginia, government records show perchlorate has been stored at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant and at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. It has also been stored at sites in Duffield and Gainesville, records show.
