Document nNkrkqa2aRN5gVOvDon0OMyJR

5l)r HJiiVifiimWim WASIIING10N, D, C. D. rrU.MH' VM|.; / ;s *,^7 OCT 1 1 ,976 4jf<\ HEW Panel on PCBs Hit For6Misleading9 Mothers . \' By Morton Mint* WMbtaftea Fot SUM WiiUr A panel of federal and private health specialists hae been aecuaed of being "very misleading" in concluding that mothers can continue to breast' feed their babies despite contamina tion of their milk by toxic industrial chemicals called PCBs. The Department of Health, Educa tion, and Welfare Committee to Coor dinate Toxicology on PCBs in Moth ers' Milk "faled to adequately deal with the Issue" at a meeting here on Sept. 23, according to a Joint state* ment Saturday by Dr. Joseph High land of the Environmental Defense Fund and Stephanie Harris of the Health Research Group. . PCBs, which concentrate In fatty tissue end remain there for years, first csme Into wide use in the 1930a, main ly'In electrics! equipment Not until the mld-1960a did researchers disoover that PCBs--polychlorinated biphenyls --had contaminated the air, water and soil of aft industrialised countries. Last week, Monsanto Chemical Co., the only American manufacturer,' an nounced that ll waa ending produc tion. HEW convened the committee after the Environmental Protection Agency reported finding PCBs in 70 of 80 samples of milk fat from mothers in. 11 states. The average concentration was 18 parts per million (ppm). In baby rhesus monkeys nursed by their moth ers with milk contaminated by ts little as 4 to 6 ppm, skin discoloration and other adverse effects occurred. The babies Improved when weaned, but behaviors! and learning deficien cies persisted for tt least a year. Because of this finding, made by University of Wisconsin pathologist James R. Allen, the HEW committee urged Immediate studies to determine, among other things, whether PCBs can cause learning disabilities or hyperactivity in breast fed babies. In a letter to HEW Secretary David Mathews, Highland and Harris object ed to the composition of the commit tee, saying it was labeled "expert" but included pediatricians and others who are not expert in the toxicity of PCBs or chemicals generally. They also protested "the lack of opportunity for discussion" by members of the public at the committee meeting. The non-profit organization repre sentatives also made these points: The committee's conclusions were those "of the chairmen alone," did not have "affirmative support" from com mittee members and consequently should not be ranked as official gov ernment recommendations. Although several federal officials on the committee advised women who are or might someday be pregnant not to eat game fish Identified as PCB carriers, the committee ignored a Fish and Wildlife Service official in the audience whose data indicated "the widespread incidence of PCBs in ell fresh-water fish." Because the data on breast-feed ing with PCB-contamlnated milk are too sparse to permit accurate meas urement of benefits and risks, the committee "could not" have given sound advice and should not have taken a position. - HONS 053153