My name is Jeffrey Grupp. I am a professor in philosophy at Grand Valley State U. I have a daughter of 9 months. Having her has made me aware of, and curious of, the autism epidemic. I am curious about what the mystery cause of the autism epidemic is. Could it be perchorate? Consider this news release from yesterday (I have pasted it in below):

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Rocket Fuel Chemical Found in Organic Milk

WASHINGTON (Nov. 30) - The government has found traces of a rocket fuel chemical in organic milk in Maryland, green leaf lettuce grown in Arizona and bottled spring water from Texas and California. What's not clear is the significance of the data, collected by the Food and Drug Administration through Aug. 19.

Sufficient amounts of perchlorate can affect the thyroid, potentially causing delayed development and other problems.

But Environmental Protection Agency official Kevin Mayer called for calm, saying in an interview Tuesday: "Alarm is not warranted. That is clear."

"I think that it is important that EPA and FDA and other agencies come to some resolution about the toxicity of this chemical," Mayer said. "That has been, frankly, a struggle for the last few years."

The FDA found that of the various food items it tested, iceberg lettuce grown in Belle Glade, Fla., had the highest concentrations of perchlorate. The greens had 71.6 parts per billion of the compound, the primary ingredient in solid rocket propellent. Red leaf lettuce grown in El Centro, Calif., had 52 ppb of perchlorate. Most of the purified, distilled and spring bottled water tested around the nation tested had no detectable amount of perchlorate.

Whole organic milk in Maryland, however, had 11.3 ppb of perchlorate.

Asked whether that level of chemical in milk was worrisome, Mayer, the EPA's regional perchlorate coordinator for Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada, said, "The answer is, we don't know yet."

The FDA said in a statement that consumers should not change their eating habits in response to the test results, posted on the agency's Web site Friday.

The testing comes as federal agencies try find how much perchlorate people are exposed to from food so they can determine whether action is needed to protect the public health. Federal agencies have been trying since the early 1990s to determine what level of perchlorate is safe.

The state of California, meanwhile, set a standard of no more than 10 ppb of perchlorate in drinking water. That was lowered to 6 ppb in drinking water to account for the chemical also lacing food, Mayer said.

A more conservative suggestion, in a draft from the EPA, would allow no more than 1 ppb of perchlorate in drinking water.

The FDA tested lettuce samples collected at farms and packing sheds and bottled water from retail stores. Raw milk samples came from a research facility in Maryland and other milk samples were obtained from retail stores.

"These data are exploratory and should not be understood to be a reflection of the distribution of perchlorate in the U.S. food supply," the agency said in a statement. "Until more is known about the health effects of perchlorate and its occurrence in foods, FDA continues to recommend that consumers eat a balanced diet, choosing a variety of foods that are low in trans fat and saturated fat, and rich in high-fiber grains, fruits and vegetables."

On the Net:

FDA report on perchlorate: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/dms/clo4data.html

11/30/04 20:17 EST

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HEre is the EPA's comment yesterday (again, pasted in):

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Perchlorate
EPA has released for public review and comment its revised draft toxicity assessment on perchlorate, which is the primary ingredient of solid rocket propellant. The draft assessment, entitled "Perchlorate Environmental Contamination: Toxicological Review and Risk Characterization," is available at www.epa.gov/ncea under "what's new". The Agency will also hold a peer review workshop open to the public on this draft assessment on March 5th and 6th 2002, in Sacramento, California. This meeting will be open to the public, and more information is available at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr under the heading for Jan. 2. Following this opportunity for public and independent scientific input, EPA expects to finalize the document by late summer, 2002.

When finalized, this draft assessment will be an important update to the Agency's health and ecological assessment for potential risks resulting from exposure to perchlorate through drinking water and other sources. The revised human health and ecological risk estimates found in this draft document continue to undergo scientific review and analysis both within EPA and by the external scientific community. As with any draft EPA assessment containing a quantitative risk value, risk estimates in this review document are preliminary. Therefore, it is premature at this stage to interpret risk estimates in this draft document as final EPA conclusions on which the Agency could take risk management action. The draft risk estimate is not a drinking water standard, but is the first step in a lengthy process to determine if the agency should set a federal drinking water standard for this contaminant.

EPA, other federal agencies, states, water suppliers and industry are already addressing perchlorate contamination through a number of activities. EPA is monitoring for perchlorate in drinking water through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program and the U.S. Geological Survey is monitoring for perchlorate in surface water. In California, Superfund sites are employing new technologies to remove perchlorate from contaminated water. The Ground Water Remediations Technologies Analysis Center is collecting data on perchlorate treatment studies to provide a stronger scientific understanding of the effectiveness of perchlorate treatment.

The draft toxicity assessment provides additional scientific insight into the potential risks posed by perchlorate and ways to reduce those risks. Sensitive populations such as pregnant women should follow the advice of their health care provider regarding the amount and type of liquids, including water to be consumed. Concerns and questions about perchlorate and the safety of tap water can be addressed by contacting local water utilities. Contact EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 for general information on drinking water issues.

What is Perchlorate?
Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made chemical. Most of the perchlorate manufactured in the United States is used as the primary ingredient of solid rocket propellant. Wastes from the manufacture and improper disposal of perchlorate-containing chemicals are increasingly being discovered in soil and water.

How Can Perchlorate Affect Human Health?
Perchlorate interferes with iodide uptake into the thyroid gland. Because iodide is an essential component of thyroid hormones, perchlorate disrupts how the thyroid functions. In adults, the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism. In children, the thyroid plays a major role in proper development in addition to metabolism. Impairment of thyroid function in expectant mothers may impact the fetus and newborn and result in effects including changes in behavior, delayed development and decreased learning capability. Changes in thyroid hormone levels may also result in thyroid gland tumors. EPA’s draft analysis of perchlorate toxicity is that perchlorate’s disruption of iodide uptake is the key event leading to changes in development or tumor formation.

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The following site, from Arizona State University
directed by Prof. James B. Adams (here is the link: www.eas.asu.edu/~autism/Research/Completed.html)
seems to suggest that the effects that Perchorate has on the thyroid are similar to those of regressive autism set in. HEre is the site info pasted into this email:

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Research Programs: Completed Projects
Vitamin/Mineral Study
J.B. Adams, C.E. Holloway

Summary: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, 3-month treatment study of a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement (Brainchild's Spectrum Support) for children with autism.
Result: Statistically significant improvement in sleep and gastrointestinal problems, based on parental observations, and other possible improvements that were not statistically signficant.
Recommendation: Many children with autism can benefit from a specialized multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. See Advice section for detailed recommendations.

Vitamin Autism Paper August 4, 2003

Funded by Arizona State University, the Greater Phoenix Chapter of the ASA, and the FEAT chapter of Tucson.

This work was also summarized in a review paper presented at the annual meeting of the Autism Society of America, July 2003, as part of a presentation on nutritional status of children and adults with autism.
Nutritional Abnormalities in Autism, and the Effect of Nutritional Supplementation
James B. Adams, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
Tapan Audhya, Ph.D., Vitamin Diagnostics, Cliffwood Beach, NJ
Emar Vogelaar, Ph.D., Autism Research and Treatment Center, The Netherlands

ASA 2003 Vitamin-Mineral Paper

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Vitamin/Mineral Supplements for Children and Adults with Autism
James B. Adams, Ph.D. and Woody McGinnis, M.D.

(Review paper published in the Advocate, the newsletter of the Autism Society of America)
Vitamin/Mineral Supplement Study

table for paper

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Hair Analysis of Children with Autism and their Mothers
J.B. Adams; C.E. Holloway; F. George; D. Quig

Results:
Iodine: Children with autism have low levels of iodine (needed for proper thyroid functioning and to prevent mental retardation). Iodine deficiency is the most common worldwide cause of mental retardation.
Lithium: Children with autism and their mothers have low levels of lithium, which is needed to prevent behavior problems.
Pica: Children with pica often had low chromium in their hair.
Low Muscle Tone: Children with autism and low muscle tone had low levels of potassium, which is needed for proper muscle function.
Preliminary Recommendations (more research needed):
Iodine supplementation (100 mg/day) and lithium supplementation (500 mcg/day) during pregnancy may help prevent autism. Smaller doses for their children may help treat some of the symptoms of autism, including iodine for thyroid function and lithium for behavior problems.
Chromium supplementation might possibly help reduce pica.
Children with low muscle tone may benefit from increased potassium, preferably from fruits and vegetables, or from prescription supplements if necessary.
Hair Analysis July 14, 2003

tables for Paper

Funded by Arizona State University, the Greater Phoenix Chapter of the ASA, and the Pima County Chapter of the ASA.

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Exposure to Heavy Metals, Physical Symptoms, and Developmental Milestones in Children with Autism
J.B. Adams, C.E. Holloway, M. Margolis, F. George

Summary: A questionnaire was used to assess heavy metal exposure in the mothers of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) vs. controls. Four exposures were found to be statistically significant, including maternal seafood consumption, oral antibiotic use (which greatly decreases excretion of mercury), adverse reactions to vaccinations (many of which contain thimerosal), and pica (which leads to increased consumption of heavy metals).

Several major physical problems were much more common and severe in the ASD population, including chronic gastrointestinal problems, sleep problems, excessive ear infections, low muscle tone, and excessive salivation/drooling.

Finally, 62% of the children with ASD were reported to have developed normally, with normal developmental milestones, and then had a major regression at an average age of 18 months.

Exposure to Heavy Metals, Physical Symptoms, and Developmental Milestones July 14, 2003

Funded by Arizona State University, the Greater Phoenix Chapter of the ASA, and the Pima County Chapter of the ASA.

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A Case-Control Study of Mercury Burden in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Bradstreet J, Geier DA, Kartzinel JJ, Adams JB, Geier MR. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 8 (3) Summer 2003 76-79.

This study compared the mercury excretion of 221 children with autism vs. 18 neurotypical children after each group received DMSA (a chelating agent) for 3 days. The children with autism excreted 4x as much mercury, which was highly statistically significant (p < 0.0002). Lead and cadmium levels were also measured, but they were not statistically different. This suggests that children with autism have much higher levels of mercury in their bodies.

Jeff Grupp
www.abstractatom.com