The contamination of the food chain in Michigan with PBB: the breast-feeding question
Poland, R.L.; Cohen, S.N.
Progress in Clinical and Biological Research 36: 129-137
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0361-7742 PMID: 6250162 Document Number: 160109
This article details the events leading up to the Michigan Dep. of Public Health (DPH) advisory on breast feeding (Dec. 1976) and the process used to develop the position taken. The panel concluded that the benefits accruing to an infant from breast feeding would outweigh the best estimate of the potential risk of continuing polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) exposure beyond the date of birth. The DPH circulated letters to Michigan physicians in Dec. 1976 announcing that lactating women could, if they wished, have their milk analysed for PBB level at state expense. Many of the historical events recounted in this article derive from newspaper coverage at the time, and the remainder of the account results from personal involvement on advisory committees, a review of the literature on PBB, and interviews with some investigators still working on follow-up projects.