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From:
"Shealy, Katherine" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 24 Feb 2004 09:25:06 -0500
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I hope some find this helpful.  Following is a document created by
Northwest Environmental Watch and the Washington Toxics Coalition to
help those working in breastfeeding address questions that may arise as
a result of their recent publication.  This is not a CDC document.  I
apologize for any formatting strangeness, because it is not my document,
I copied and pasted it exactly as it originally appeared.

Questions and Answers about PBDEs in 
Breastmilk of Puget Sound Women

Northwest Environment Watch and the Washington Toxics Coalition will
release a study on February 25, 2004, with information on the levels of
toxic flame retardants in Puget Sound residents, as assessed by testing
human milk.  This study follows a national study released in September
2003 by the Environmental Working Group that found unprecedented levels
of flame retardants in breastmilk.  The following information is
designed to help breastfeeding specialists answer questions that
pregnant or lactating women may have about the study.

For additional information, please contact:

Erika Schreder (x19) or Laurie Valeriano (x14), 
Washington Toxics Coalition, 206 632 1545 
Clark Williams-Derry, Northwest Environment Watch, 206 447 1880 x106

What are PBDEs?
PBDEs (or Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers) are a family of
flame-retarding chemicals used in computer plastics, furniture foams,
textiles, and other products.  There are 209 different kinds of PBDEs,
but only a few are used commercially.

Why should we care about PBDEs? 
Some forms of PBDEs are potentially dangerous to and accumulate readily
in living things, including humans.  PBDE levels in people and the
environment have been rising rapidly in recent years, particularly in
North America, where the use of PBDEs is highest.

What are the health risks from PBDEs?
PBDEs cause learning, memory, and behavior problems in laboratory
animals. PBDEs have also been found to affect thyroid hormones and other
bodily functions in laboratory studies. 
 
PBDEs are very similar to a class of chemicals known as PCBs.  These
chemicals, which were banned in the late 1970s, can impede children's
mental development.  Scientists have found that PBDEs and PCBs work in
similar ways, and may even act together to impair development. PBDE
levels in people's bodies are currently lower than but may eventually
surpass PCB levels.  

Why test breast milk for PBDEs?
Testing human breast milk is a good way to determine PBDE levels in
people's bodies. Breast milk is high in fat, and PBDEs collect in
fat-which makes it possible to run comprehensive tests with a small
amount of milk.  Breast milk can provide a useful picture of the
exposure of the population at large, and particularly of the exposures
of reproductive-aged women and young children.

What did the study show?
The study tested the breastmilk of nine first-time mothers in the Puget
Sound area.  The results of the study will be released on February 25,
2004.  Please see www.northwestwatch.org for the final report on that
date.  

Should women continue to breastfeed? 
While the presence of toxic chemicals in humans' fetal environment and
milk signals the urgent need to reduce community exposure to these
pollutants, the weight of the evidence indicates that breastfeeding
remains the healthiest option for mothers and babies.  There are several
reasons for this:

*       The greatest risk from exposure is during in utero development,
not through breastfeeding.  Suspending breastfeeding would not address
the core problem: community (and thereby maternal and fetal)
contamination.
*	
*       As noted by the Surgeon General Satcher and other health
authorities, breastfeeding is one of the most important contributors to
infant health in the U.S.  Human milk provides babies with important and
unique immune factors, promoters of neurological development, hormones,
and nutrients.  Without human milk, babies face a higher risk of many
acute and chronic illnesses--health risks that outweigh the estimated
risk from exposure to common levels of toxins in human milk.  
*	
*       Breast-fed children do appear to have higher body levels of
certain toxic chemicals.  High concentrations of PCBs in breastmilk, for
example, seem to reduce the resistance to infection that breastmilk
ordinarily provides.  However, while these contaminants diminish the
benefits of breastfeeding, they do not negate them. 
*	
*       Breastfeeding reduces mothers' risk of premenopausal breast
cancer, potentially tempering some of the damage that pollution poses to
women's health.  

The findings of this study should not discourage women from
breastfeeding.  Women deserve the ability to choose to nourish and
protect their children by breastfeeding, without having to fear that
environmental pollution has compromised the value or safety of their
milk. The real solution is to pass policies that will reduce the levels
of these toxic chemicals in the environment to safeguard babies in the
womb and protect breastmilk.  The Washington Toxics Coalition and the
Toxic Free Legacy Coalition are seeking state policies that will
eliminate the release of persistent toxic chemicals that are long-lived
in the environment and build up in our bodies and breastmilk. For more
information on policy changes sought we are seeking, please see
www.watoxics.org.  For information on joining the Toxic Free Legacy
Coalition, please see www.toxicfreelegacy.org.

Has there been government action on PBDEs?
Yes.  PBDEs have been banned in Sweden, and some forms of PBDE are
scheduled for phaseout in the European Union. Last year, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency announced an agreement to remove the two
most troubling forms of PBDE from the market in the United States.
However, a form of PBDE that is widely used in computers and consumer
electronics will remain in use.  

In Washington state, Governor Gary Locke issued an executive order on
January 28th 2004 directing the Washington State Department of Ecology
to develop a plan to reduce exposures to PBDEs.  Environmental, public
health, and consumer advocacy groups are seeking a ban on the use of
PBDEs and other toxic flame retardants that persist in the environment
and build up in our bodies.  This effort is part of a larger statewide
policy and strategy to phase out persistent toxic chemicals, including
mercury, dioxin, and PBDEs.  As of February 2004, the state program is
stifled by a lack of funding.  The Washington state legislature is
currently debating funding for the program, which is urgently needed so
that the state can take swift action on these persistent toxic
chemicals.  


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