[GreenYes] BFRs: More from Sandra Steingraber

[Ted Smith <tsmith@svtc.org>]

(please excuse mulitple postings)

> Dear Colleagues:

Below is an important email from Sandra Steingraber that discusses BFR
contamination of breast milk.  It is more urgent evidence of the
need to get rid of these chemicals from electronic products and other
uses.

Ted

>  Dear POPs colleagues, 
> Last weekend I attended a fantastic conference on breast milk 
> contamination, which was held at the New York Academy of Medicine. 
> The conference, called "Chemical Contaminants in Breast Milk: Impact
> on Children's Health," was co-sponsored by Mt. Sinai Hospital's
> Center for Children's Health and the Environment and the March of 
> Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. The presentations ranged in topic 
> from worldwide pattern's of infant exposure to POPs and their
> pharmokinetics to 
> possible health effects and included a lot of new data by top 
> researchers, including Walter Rogan, Elaine Faustman, and Peter 
> Scheidt.
> I learned a lot. For example, Swedish breast milk monitoring shows an
> exponential rise over the past three decades in concentrations of 
> brominated flame retardants in mother's milk. We don't test
> systematically for 
> these chemicals in the U.S., but new data from California shows that
> San Francisco Bay Area mothers have residues of flame retardant in 
> their milk that exceeds the Swedish levels by several fold. (This 
> was research done by Kim Hooper.) Very worrisome. Secondly, a 
> long-term longitudinal study of environmental influences on child 
> health is being launched by the National Institute of Child Health 
> and Human Development; this study will include the investigation of 
> possible health problems created by the presence of POPs 
> in breast milk. (headed up by Peter Scheidt).
> If you want to learn more about this conference--or read the 
> abstracts--please do not email me. Instead, contact the conference 
> organizer Lauri Boni: lauri.boni@mssm.edu
> I was very honored to be asked at this conference to give a reading 
> from my just released book, Having Faith, which deals in a large part
> with POPs contamination of breast milk as well as with prenatal 
> toxic threats. It includes a description of the 1998 POPs treaty 
> negotiations in Geneva, and advocates for IPEN.
> Should you wish more information about this book or my upcoming book
> tour schedule (Washington, D.C., Connecticut, New 
> Hampshire, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Portland, 
> Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Toronto), please email me privately.
> My 8-week-old nursing son will be serving as my audio-visual aid 
> during these tour appearances (hopefully more video than audio!). I 
> certainly hope that we can find a language to talk about the issue of
> breast milk 
> contamination that does not send women back to the bottle but instead
> makes clear that we need to get these contaminants out of breast 
> milk--which necessitates getting them out of the larger environment 
> with which women's breasts enjoy an exquisite communion. I hope 
> also that the book will support all of our collective work in POPs 
> elimination.
> Warmly, Sandra 
> -- 
> --
> Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D. 
> Visiting Assistant Professor 
> Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors 
> 110 Rice Hall 
> Cornell University 
> Ithaca, NY 14853 
> ss235@cornell.edu 
> www.steingraber.com

Ted Smith

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

Campaign for Responsible Technology

760 N. First Street

San Jose, CA 95112

408-287-6707-phone

408-287-6771-fax

tsmith@igc.org

http://www.svtc.org/svtc/

=========================================

Food for thought:

How Gandhi Defined the Seven Deadly Sins

· Wealth without work

· Pleasure without conscience

· Knowledge without character

· Commerce without morality

· Science without humanity

· Worship without sacrifice

· Politics without principle