The news has been full of reports on perchlorate contamination
of the groundwater in San Martin, Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
Fallout from all of this has been huge. South County residents
worry for the health of their families and their pets. And emotions
have run high as everyone debates what should be done to handle
this problem.
The news has been full of reports on perchlorate contamination of the groundwater in San Martin, Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
Fallout from all of this has been huge. South County residents worry for the health of their families and their pets. And emotions have run high as everyone debates what should be done to handle this problem.
The largest issue here is the impact this substance may have on the health of those of us exposed to it. Truth is, no one really knows what effect perchlorate has on anyone who either ingests or comes in contact with it. There just aren’t enough studies to really know what to expect. That, alone, leads to the anxiety of local residents. We hear of perchlorate’s effect on thyroid function. But just what effect that might be is not at all clear.
Meanwhile, anecdotal reports of illnesses that “must be related to perchlorate” are everywhere. In veterinary hospitals, some of this talk centers on dogs that suffer hypothyroid disease. After all, if perchlorates affect thyroid function, could they also be responsible for this syndrome in local canines?
Many people quickly have assumed that perchlorates cause hypothyroid disease as well as some tumors in dogs. They tell stories of how their dog “suddenly” was diagnosed with hypothyroid illness or how their pet quickly developed an unexplained, horrific disease. Because of the emotion of this situation, some of these stories take on more meaning than they probably should just yet. We need to get some answers as soon as possible.
Now before anyone jumps to any conclusions here, let’s look at some facts. Hypothyroid disease is not a rare condition in dogs. It occurs across the country in almost all breeds and can show up in dogs as young as 2 years of age. In as many as 80 percent of its victims, it is not caused by a problem with the function of the thyroid gland. Instead, these hypothyroid dogs have healthy, functional thyroid glands. But their immune system mistakenly destroys some of the thyroid hormone produced by their healthy glands. These thyroid autoantibodies actually deplete what would otherwise be a normal and healthy level of thyroid hormone in the bloodstream.
Is this condition caused by perchlorates? We can’t say for sure, but it may not be. We are told that in humans, perchlorate actually affects the uptake of iodine in the gland, not the development of antibodies that destroy the hormone.
And what about the other 20 percent of dogs with hypothyroid disease? Some of them do, indeed, have a dysfunctional gland. Will dogs exposed to perchlorate develop this form? Again, we really don’t have the answers. Truth is, we don’t really know. There is a way we can begin to find out whether perchlorate is a threat to our own health and our pet’s well-being. We need to collect statistics, counting numbers of human and animal patients with health problems such as cancer or thyroid disease in the area.
If we can accurately collect these numbers, then compare them to statistics in other regions of the state or country where perchlorate doesn’t exist, we might learn if there is an unusual problem in the San Martin area. Good scientific analysis could answer a lot of questions. This kind of a project will take a great deal of time and effort. But we need to collect this type of data to see whether or not San Martin and its neighboring communities are adversely affected by perchlorates.
Postponing any such study will only delay getting information vital to our understanding of the effects of this substance. Good scientific analysis will help those of us in San Martin be able to know the truth, and maybe once again, we will be able to relax and enjoy life in the country.
