Do you remember the hysteria in Michigan in the 70's when dairy cattle were
fed food contaminated with pbb's?  After many farmers complained that their
cattle were very ill, born with severe defects, and dying, investigators
finally identified the source of the contamination came from a mixup at the
plant where  food was put into the bags.

Families who lived on the affected farms were frequently ill and there was a
high incidence of miscarriage and birth defects.

At first, all mothers in Michigan were cautioned not to breastfeed because
their pbb levels were probably higher than normal if they had been ingesting
any cow's milk or milk products. Women rushed to get their milk tested.  And
many women worried that they had hurt their children by nursing them before
any contamination had been identified.

Contaminants like pbb's are stored in body lipids, and are retained in the
body unless the lipids are eliminated.  Weight loss and lactation are methods
for releasing lipids and the stored pbb's.

I haven't heard anything about this for a long time, until one of our
WIC/MSUE peer counselors called me with a question about  a woman who was a
child on one of the affected farms and whose family had been identified as
having high levels in their systems.  She wonders if she should breastfeed
the baby she is expecting. There is no answer yet from her primary provider.
Lawrence says "...the fetus receives his greatest dose in utero and ....adult
body fat has approx. 30 times the concentration in milk."

Perhaps this is heralds yet another round of this calamity. It never ends!