May 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

By John DeFore

In the wake of recent controversy concerning bisphenol-A in baby bottles comes another worry for parents: components of Teflon, and other similar substances suspected of being carcinogens, have been turning up in the milk of nursing mothers.

Professor Kathleen Arcaro, a member of the environmental sciences program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, conducted the research (to be published in Environmental Science and Technology) as part of a larger study concerning breast cancer. The team collected milk from 45 Massachusetts mothers and scanned it for nine perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) — ranging from materials used in nonstick cookware to those that help fabrics resist stains.

As an official statement puts it, “PFCs are persistent chemicals that can linger in the environment and the human body for years without being broken down.” They previously have been found in blood, drinking water and consumer goods from pizza boxes to dental floss. Their ubiquity diminishes whatever comfort individuals might draw from the fact that the levels Arcaro found in breast milk to not meet the threshold deemed unsafe by a U.K. toxicology board — breast milk, after all, will be only one of a possible multitude of contributors to an infant’s PFC intake.

Plus, as Arcaro points out, existing safety levels remain a matter of debate, and are drawn from tests performed on rodents, not human subjects.

For more information on perfluorinated compounds and  how to reduce your exposure see Pollution in People.

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