what are the health effects of perchlorates?

WWI ammunition polluted the water. Journalist and doctor Damien Mascret explains the consequences on health, on the set of 12/13 of France 3. “A priori it is worrying to think that in this sludge taken from the Argonne region, there are perchlorates”, he begins. According to him, “it should be emphasized, and this is rather reassuring, that perchlorates are neither carcinogenic nor mutagenic”. Besides, “ANSES has set safety thresholds with very wide margins, which means that even when they are temporarily exceeded, there is no health problem”.

Risks for pregnant women

Nevertheless, “ANSES has set different thresholds for pregnant women and newborns and that is not by chance”, he says. Indeed, the risk exists for these women. “It’s related to thyroid hormones, very important hormones that are made from ingested iodine, by the thyroid, that gland that’s just below the glottis.”explains Damien Mascret. “Perchlorates, if there is too much in the water we drink, can block the incorporation of iodine and therefore reduce the production of thyroid hormones”concludes the journalist.