The answer is yes, according to a study published in the open access journal Environmental Health in September. The study tracked the infants of pregnant women exposed to the chemical inadvertently by PCE coating inside water piping used on Cape Cod between 1969 and 1983.

Ann Aschengrau, Boston University School of Public Health, and a team combed through records of those living through this episode. They compared rates of birth defects for fetuses exposed to the PCE to a control group which was not exposed.

They found an increased risk of cleft palate and neural tube defects, especially anencephaly.

Troubling news? Actually, I have the solution for you. Multi-Pure triple-carbon home water filters are certified by the NSF to remove more than 99 percent of traces of this chemical, also called tetrachloroethylene. Multi-Pure filters protect your family from many toxins, including mercury and PCB’s–which are not filtered out by many competitors. Its 90-day satisfaction warranty is unmatched.  Check out Multi-Pure today!

That’s a question the EPA is dodging, according to the watchdog Environmental Working Group. (See previous post.) This rocket fuel has been contaminating our waters since Cold War rocket launches and is “a potent thyroid toxin that may affect fetal and infant brain development,” according to the EWG article.

The EPA has been shielding defense contractors from the potential hundred-million-dollar cost of cleaning our waters, said the EWG, and continued to do so when the EPA last fall decided not to regulate perchlorate as a water pollutant.

In response to concerns expressed by scientists, the EPA in January issued a “health advisory” on perchlorate and asked for review of the issue from the National Academy of Sciences. Meanwhile, infants are getting too much perchlorate, from both the powdered formula and from the water used to mix it.  The perchlorate from the powdered formula comes from polluted water drunk by the cows, presumably.

The CDC study published in March “said that reconstituting cow’s milk/lactose formula with water contaminated with perchlorate at just 4 parts per billion (ppb) would cause 54 percent of the infants consuming the mix to exceed the so-called ’safe’ dose set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” said the EWG. ” Many scientists contend that the EPA ’safe’ level is too high to protect public health.”

While all this politicking is going on, I am doing something to protect my family from pollutants: I got a triple-carbon filter for my tap water from Multi-Pure, the leading brand. I’m very happy with my durable unit. Check out a home water filter today!

However, the most important thing to do is keep grass clippings and excess fertilizer off the sidewalks and streets.  These are the two main culprits in polluting our streams with phosphates, according to the Colorado State Extension Service.

If you’re a gardener, you may want to make your own compost–recycle those carrot peels and apple cores, in addition to the grass clippings and leaves from the yard. Composting equipment is available from garden supply centers.  With compost added to your garden, the soil retains moisture and is more fertile.