Here are the highlights on this study done by the Center for Disease Control, and called attention to by the Environmental Workgroup:

• Trace amounts of perchlorate contamination was found in samples of formula being tested
• No names of brands were released, but most of the contamination came from formula derived from cow’s milk
• Perchlorate is a chemical mostly found in defense and aerospace sites but can be found in some cities’ water supply.
• The exact negative effects of perchlorate is unclear, though it has been linked to thyroid problems which plays a role in metabolism and growth in humans.
• The perchlorate in formulas may be offset by iodine, also contained in formula, which acts against perchlorate.  Size of infant and extent of formula use also affects the risk.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it may be lowering the level of perchlorate acceptable in a give drinking water supply.

If you are a new Mom, do consider breastfeeding.  There have been some disconcerting news out there regarding formula in recent times.  If not, try formula alternatives that isn’t derived from cow’s milk.

Source: NY Times

For five days this fall, USA TODAY teamed with scientists from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland to analyze 40 toxic chemicals in the air near America’s schools. Although the government checks the quantity of 6 smog-producing chemicals in the air, many high-risk area are not monitored, and only 3% of America’s schools are within a mile of a monitor. Since even small amounts of toxins can lead to physical dangers for children, the news team was anxious to call attention to the potential problem.

Using a government-created computer model that suggests where industrial pollutants may collect, USA TODAY chose 95 schools they believed were at risk. Their results suggest that two-thirds of these schools need follow-up studies.

The EPA determines that air is safe if the increased risk of cancer from a chemical is less than 1 in a million cases. But at 64 of the monitored schools, the levels were at least 10 times that amount, a level where the EPA considers working with local industry to lower their emissions. In three schools, benzene (linked to leukemia) levels were 100 times the EPA standard, or likely to increased cancer rates by 1 in 10,000 people.

Children breathe more air per pound than adults do, and process chemicals differently. Therefore, it is possible that pollutants could permanently alter their cells, leading to cancer later in life. Philip Landrigan, one of the nation’s foremost experts on pediatric medicine and a physician at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, says, “Those mutations, once they take place, they’re hard-wired…they certainly put the child at greater risk of cancer, and that risk is life-long.”

Chemicals were found in both affluent and underprivileged schools, coast to coast. Here is a list of the worst schools, as well as a listing of the chemical found and their risks.

You can refer to Babies Online’s Green articles section for information on how to Protect Your Children With Green Cleaning or Amazingly Effective Tips On Environmentally Friendly Parenting plus much more.

What?s in your food? – A primer on artificial food additives.

In this series, we?ve been exploring the issue of the health effects of artificial food additives from a study on hyperactivity to food coloring.

In this part, we look at preservatives.

According to the FDA:

?In its broadest sense, a food additive is any substance added to food ? directly or indirectly, in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food. This definition includes any substance used in the production, processing, treatment, packaging, transportation or storage of food.?

In other words, there are thousands of direct and indirect food additives in the foods that we consume, many of which are used as preservatives to maintain freshness and retard spoiling.

Some of the additives lurking in your foods that are considered harmful include:

• Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) ? considered an ?unclassifiable carcinogen? by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• Acesulfame-K ? an artificial sweetener that disrupts thyroid function and is often used in conjunction with aspartame<
• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) ? An allergen and suspected endocrine disruptor (may interfere with, mimic or block hormones)
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) ? a preservative, also an allergen and suspected endocrine disruptor
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) ? A University of Pennsylvania study showed that MSG ?interferes with the production of a number of liver enzymes, which are vital to the body’s ability to metabolize drugs and other potentially toxic substances. Neonatal exposure to MSG has a different effect on growth hormone production. [MSG] causes a permanent reduction in the secretion of growth hormone, which leads to a reduced production of the drug-metabolizing enzymes. This hampers the metabolization of drugs and toxic substance. The reduced quantity of growth hormone leads to stunted growth and irreversible obesity.?
• Sodium Nitrate/Nitrate ? a preservative, considered an ?unclassifiable carcinogen by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While Nitrates are naturally occurring, and do not present major issues for most, health consequences for infants and babies in utero are great.
• Sodium Benzoate ? studied in addition to the laundry list of food colorings that presented adverse behavioral effects in toddlers and pre-teens, it can create benzene when combined with vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Benzene, is a known carcinogen and has the ability to affect mitochondria in cells and cause cell death.
• Sulfites (including Sulfur Dioxide, Sodium Sulfite, Sodium And Potassium Bisulfite, Sodium and Potassium Metabisulfite) This group, and all of its derivatives falls under a chemical is considered to be ?unclassifiable carcinogens? by the WHO and the EPA.

All of these sweeteners and preservatives range from being as mild as creating allergic reactions in some consumers to having potential grave health effects.

While the FDA may counter that they are ?safe? in the small doses in each batch of food item, when one takes into account how many foods you and your family are ingesting every day that contain them, the issue of ?safety? seems compromised.

Even when you think that you are picking safe and healthy alternatives, you may be consuming toxins unwittingly.

In part four, we?ll examine your produce.

Learn more:

Comprehensive list of food and environmental chemicals and warning levels for each

FDA on the safety of food additives.

FDA?s ?What is a Food Additive??

How ?Safe? is Safe?

?Limiting your child?s intake of food additives?

Comprehensive list of food additives from the GSFA Codex

Organic Food

Parenting Starts Before Pregnancy