Seafood's Delights -- Safe to Eat

[Richard Alexander <ra@alexanderlaw.com>]

>Subject:     'Seafood's Delights -- Safe to Eat?' 
>Sent:        11/16/96 9:27 PM
>Received:    11/17/96 12:27 PM
>From:        Susan K. Snow, sksnow@1stnet.com
>To:          Multiple recipients of list, dioxin-l@essential.org
 
While the following is not directly related to dioxins and Ms. Snow's 
recent inquiry, it is related to PCBs in seafood.  A recent article of 
mine illustrates the risk of harm in pregnant mothers eating contaminated 
Great Lakes white fish.


Fetal Brain Damage, Developmental Delays and
Intellectual Impairment as a Result of Exposure to
Polychlorinated Biphenyl [PCB] in Pregnancy
By Richard Alexander, Esq.  Copyright Richard Alexander 1996.
 

Children exposed in utero to low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls 
[PCBs] have suffered
long-term brain damage, decreased learning skills, and low I.Q. scores 
according to a study of 212
eleven year olds whose mothers had elevated concentrations of PCBs as a 
result of eating Lake
Michigan fish contaminated with the chemical. These mothers at birth had 
PCBs in the blood and
breast milk that was slightly higher than in the general population as a 
result of having consumed
approximately 12 pounds of Lake Michigan fish in the preceding six years.

This study raises serious issues for the children of women employed in 
the electrical industry who
were exposed to PCBs in the manufacture of motors, transformers, switches 
and related electrical
equipment. Oil with PCBs for many years was as a coolant and to dampen 
sparks because the
product was long-lasting, had a high tolerance for heat and did not 
readily breakdown. It has been
banned in the U.S. since the mid-1970s, but industrial residues still 
persist in the environment and
are a source of food contamination as they are taken up by plants that 
are eaten by fish. Once
consumed by humans the PCBs are deposited and stored in fat, virtually 
permanently. Numerous
studies have documented increased levels of PCBs in Great Lakes fish.

Risks associated with developmental delays have been well documented in 
the scientific literature.

In a previous study in North Carolina, Rogan, W. J. et al Polychlorinated 
Biphenyls [PCBs] and
Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethene [DDE] in Human Milk: Effects of Maternal 
Factors and Previous
Lactation, American Journal of Public Health 1986, 76:172-7, scientists 
showed that fetal exposure
to PCBs affected neural development in children. 

An earlier study by Drs. Jacobson showed the cohort of 313 children had 
suffered adversely
impacted postnatal growth and short-term memory deficits in infancy and 
at age 4. Jacobson, J.L.
and Jacobson S. W. et al Effects in Utero Exposure to Polychlorinated 
Biphenyls and Related
Contaminants on Cognitive Functioning in Young Children, Journal of 
Pediatrics 1990, 116;38-45.

Similar results have been found in Chinese children exposed to mothers 
who had eaten rice oil that
contained PCBs.

The present Wayne State study followed up the 313 children previously 
tested by Drs. Jacobson
and re-tested 212 at age eleven. Of this group 167 were born to mothers 
who had consumed fish
from Lake Michigan contaminated with PCBs. The children were administered 
the Wechsler
Intelligence Scales for Children I.Q. instrument, the Wide Range 
Achievement Test - Revised and
portions of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests -Revised.

"Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls was associated with 
significantly lower full-scale
and verbal I.Q. scores. An analysis of covariance indicated that the 
effect was primarily in the most
highly exposed children . . . . . prenatal exposure to polychlorinated 
biphenyls was associated wit
poorer verbal comprehension and freedom from distractibility." At 786.

These findings corroborate earlier findings by Drs. Jacobson, as well as 
other researchers, and
show that children whose mothers were exposed to PCBs during pregnancy 
will have decreased
"intellectual ability, short-term and long-term memory and focused and 
sustained attention," all of
which are critically necessary for success in school. Although no 
children were found to have been
mentally retarded, the loss of I.Q. in this group is sufficient to impact 
learning to read and general
school performance. 

Most significantly, children who had suffered the highest level of 
maternal exposure were three
times as likely to have I.Q. scores that tested in the low normal range 
and twice as likely to have
difficulty in learning to read.

Drs. Sandra and Joseph Jacobson have concluded that children exposed in 
utero to PCBs have the
same disabilities as children exposed to low levels of lead. The full 
study is reported in the New
England Journal of Medicine: Intellectual Impairment in Children Exposed 
to Polychlorinated
Biphenyls In Utero, New England Journal of Medicine, September 12, 1996, 
335:783.


Cordially,

Richard Alexander

The Alexander Law Firm
55 South Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408.289.1776
408.287.1776 fax
http://consumerlawpage.com