Breastfeeding
mothers from three counties surrounding the Indian Point Nuclear Power
Station joined a press conference today to announce creation of the
Mothers Milk Project to sample human and dairy milk within 50 miles
of Indian Point in Buchanan, New York.
It is believed to be the first project to systematically sample human
milk from mothers living near a nuclear power plant to detect the
presence of radioactive contaminants released by the plant.
During routine operations, Indian Point is designed to release fission
byproducts into the air and water. One such radionuclide, krypton,
rapidly decays to strontium-90, a beta particle which mimics calcium
in its chemical composition. Strontium-90 is readily absorbed in bone
tissue and teeth. With a half-life (decay period) of 30 years, it
disrupts nearby cells and is known to cause leukemia, bone cancer,
diseases of the immune system and cancers of soft tissues such as
breast and lung. Children and developing babies are especially vulnerable
to its effects.
Indian Point once had a program to sample dairy cow milk from a farm
located within five miles of the plant, but abandoned the program
in 1991 when the farm ceased to milk cows. New York State stopped
its own monitoring for dairy milk near Indian Point at the same time.
Entergy, Indian Point's owner, conducts sampling for evidence of radioactive
contamination in the environment but in its annual reports filed with
federal and state regulators it states:
"There are no animals producing milk for human consumption within
five miles of Indian Point."
"Entergy has been overlooking a critical animal subspecies: women
who breastfeed their babies within five miles of Indian Point and
beyond," said Nancy Burton, co-founder of Mothers Milk Project.
"Our project will shine a light on this never-before sampled
population," Burton said.
Burton announced the formation of Mothers Milk Project with co-founder
Gail Merrill at Merrill's home in New Canaan, Connecticut.
The Mothers Milk Project will collect samples of breast milk - as
well as cow and goat milk - within a 50-mile radius of Indian Point.
Since emails were circulated during the past week, dozens of breastfeeding
women, from Brooklyn to Tarrytown NY, have responded with offers to
have their milk sampled.
The Project will collect 8-ounce samples monthly and divide them into
four parts: one for the New York State Department of Health, one for
Entergy, one for the Project's independent laboratory and one to be
retained by the Project for possible re-testing.
The Project has appealed to the New York Department of Health to resume
its own milk sampling program near Indian Point and has been informed
the matter is under consideration.
The project also contacted Entergy to request it resume milk sampling
but Entergy has not responded.
Entergy does carry out a milk-sampling program at four dairy farms
located near Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station near near Brattleboro,
Vermont.
"If Entergy can sample cow's milk in Vermont, why not human milk
near Indian Point with its population of 22 million people within
50 miles of the plant," queried Merrill.
Each breastfeeding donor will be asked to complete a simple confidential
questionnaire. Once results are received, they will be plotted on
a map and used to create a database for future comparison. The Project
will also sample for traces of Iodine-131, a carcinogen which disrupts
thyroid and endocrine function.
Burton said she was motivated to launch the Mothers Milk Project because
of her work as Director of the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone,
a nuclear power plant near New London, Connecticut.
Poring over environmental reports filed by Dominion Nuclear Connecticut,
Inc., Millstone's owner, Burton learned that Dominion sampled goat
milk 5.5 north of Millstone and detected high concentrations of strontium-90
in the goat milk in 2001 and at other times.
Goat milk is considered a reliable indicator for the presence of radionuclides.
Also joining the press conference were a lactating goat, Cindy-Lu,
and her kids, Hannah and Henry, who will be part of the Project.
"Breatfeeding mothers and others are entitled to know if harmful
radioactive effluents are entering our milk supply," Burton said.
"We believe 'breast is best' and our babies should be protected
from insidious contaminants," she added.
Note to Editors: The Mothers Milk Project press conference will take
place on Thursday, June 5, at 12 noon at 227 Silvermine Road in New
Canaan, Connecticut.
