Researchers to WH -Stop Pawning Mercury-Laden Tuna Off on the Poor

[donsu]

http://www.democrats.com/

Researchers to White House: Stop Pawning Mercury-Laden Tuna Off on the Poor

US Newswire: "In response to a new Institute of Medicine proposal, advocates are calling on the federal Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program to stop exposing America's most sensitive, low income populations to mercury in white tuna. Currently, canned tuna is the only animal meat protein source offered by WIC programs, except in Hawaii. The IOM Report suggests that the types of fish/shellfish that are intermediate in methylmercury contamination (be) limited" in the WIC program. "Since last year, FDA has known that white canned tuna has three times as much mercury as light tuna," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. "So why is the federal WIC program continuing to subsidize the tuna industry and, in effect, the poisoning of low-income Americans with mercury from white albacore tuna?"

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=38854

U.S. Should Stop Exposing Poor to Mercury in White Tuna, Say Advocates

Contact: Michael Bender Mercury Policy Project, 802-223-9000

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"According to the US Department of Agriculture, canned tuna is the most heavily consumed fish that pregnant women and children eat-hence it is likely to be their largest exposure source of mercury," said MPP director Bender. "Therefore, we strongly recommend that white albacore canned tuna be eliminated from the WIC food package."

Currently, canned tuna is the only animal meat protein source offered by WIC programs, except in Hawaii. Earlier this year, Hawaii became the first state authorized by USDA to offer canned salmon-which contains far less mercury-in place of tuna. The request was justified primarily due to high rates of exposure to mercury by indigenous populations who eat above average amounts of fish. But even for those Americans who eat far less fish, mercury exposure from canned tuna raise serious concerns.

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One in six women of childbearing age carry mercury in their blood above the level that would pose a risk to a developing fetus, according to EPA scientists. Thus, an estimated 630,000 newborns are threatened every year by neurological impairment from exposure during pregnancy.
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more and more american women are learning what it is like to have a "neurological impairment" in a child.

don't eat tuna.