Industry Study Used by Feds Hid Evidence of Rocket Fuel's Effects

A major investigation by The Riverside Press-Enterprise finds that an industry-funded study, relied on by federal scientists to recommend drinking water standards for a toxic rocket fuel chemical, erroneously reported no effects on people from low doses of the chemical. The newspaper reports that previously unpublished data from the so-called Greer study show that perchlorate could have harmed thyroid function in several of the seven subjects, bringing the government's reliance on the study under fire by regulators in at least three states. "Something is going on there that gives us pause," said a Massachusetts health official.

EWG's own extensive investigations on perchlorate have repeatedly questioned the value of the Greer study, which inappropriately focuses on the chemical's effects on healthy adults, rather than fetuses, infants and children, who are most at risk from exposure. Studies by EWG, federal regulators and academic researchers have found the chemical in human milk, cow's milk and lettuce in concentrations exceeding the safety standards established or proposed by Massachusetts and California, two of the states criticizing the industry-funded Greer study.

Read more at EWG's Perchlorate Issue Page.

 
Disqus Comments

Related News

Continue Reading