"When writer Florence Williams was nursing her second child, she read a research study about toxins found in human breast milk. She decided to test her own breast milk and shipped a sample to a lab in Germany. What came back surprised her. Trace amounts of pesticides, dioxin and a jet fuel ingredient — as well as high to average levels of flame retardants — were all found in her breast milk. How could something like this happen?"

"'It turns out that our breasts are almost like sponges, the way they can soak up some of these chemicals, especially the ones that are fat-loving — the ones [that] tend to accumulate in fat tissue,' Williams tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. 'Unfortunately, the breast is also masterful at converting these molecules into food in the way of breast milk.'"

Terry Gross interviews Florence Williams for WHYY's Fresh Air via NPR May 16, 2012. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Toxic Roulette" (Chicago Tribune) [3]

"BPA Diminishes in Vitro Success" (Environmental Health News)
[4]
"It’s Worthwhile To Limit Exposure To BPA" (Arlington Heights Daily Herald) [5]

"Bisphenol A Study Hints at Breast-Cancer Link" (McClatchy) [6]

"Monkey Study Finds BPA Alters Mammary Glands" (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) [7]

"Research Adds To BPA Fear of Cancer" (Sioux Falls Argus Leader) [8]

"FDA Denies a Petition That Sought To Ban Bpa From Food Packaging" (Bend Bulletin) [9]