WA - Unusually high rate of anencephaly probed in Yakima, Benton, & Franklin counties

[wfgodot]

Mystery over why so many babies are born with brain defect that leaves them blind, deaf and unable to feel pain in Washington state. (Daily Mail)

• The prognosis for babies born with anencephaly is death
• Anencephalic babies are born without a large portion of the brain, skull and scalp
• Three Washington counties have reported an unusually higher rate of anencephaly
• Authorities have not been able to establish a common cause for the high rate of the defect

Washington state authorities are baffled after an investigation into the spike in a rare birth defect in several neighboring counties has failed to uncover a common cause.

The counties of Yakima, Benton and Franklin all reported an unusually high rate of anencephalic pregnancies between January 2010 and January 2013.
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Anencephaly occurs between the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy. During that time, the neural tube is supposed to close and fold over to form the brain and spinal cord of the fetus.
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The rate of anencephaly is one or two per 10,000 births. The rate in the Washington state counties is eight per 10,000 births.

It's a significant jump for such a rare condition and prompted the Department of Health study.
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In Washington, health investigators found no common exposures, conditions or causes among the cases of anencephaly, and no significant differences between healthy pregnancies and anencephalic births.
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'Could it be a fluke? We don't know. It could take time to uncover some sort of [unusual] exposure,' Dr. Joanne Stone, director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, said.
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much more at the link

 

[mysteriew]

They say no common exposures. But we don't always know when we have been exposed or what we have been exposed to. There is a lot of chemicals that escape into the environment one way or another. And it isn't always reported.

 

[kdblaisdell]

I believe Hanford Nuclear Plant was in Benton Co. Yakima and Franklin Counties have a fairly wide border with Benton Co.

 

[Jacie Estes]

water/air two common denominators

 

[waitin'4thewrld2chg]

I believe Hanford Nuclear Plant was in Benton Co. Yakima and Franklin Counties have a fairly wide border with Benton Co.

Bingo. My thoughts exactly.

 

[meanmaryjean]

But, what we know about radiation exposure in early pregnancy does not explain this. It is possible that this is just a statistical outlier. We had a similar incidence of childhood cancer in my county several years ago. They spent a TON of money testing and investigating everything- and came up empty.

Outlier statistics IS a possiblity.

 

[STANDREID]

This was over 3 years and it's not that big a difference from the average so I expect that it's just a case of some county having the most while another has none. If over the next three years the rate is still above the norm then I would expect that there was some cause although we may never know what it is or was.

These children are very bizarre looking (that illustration doesn't tell the half of it) and it's heartbreaking to see and know the fate of these pitiful little babies. I'm sure they're perfectly formed angels when they get to Heaven

 

[huckleberryhound]

Besides the Hanford Nuclear Site, not too far south of this area is the Umatilla Weapons Depot, where old chemical and biological weapons have been stored for years, and are now being incinerated to destroy them.

 

[kdblaisdell]

Besides the Hanford Nuclear Site, not too far south of this area is the Umatilla Weapons Depot, where old chemical and biological weapons have been stored for years, and are now being incinerated to destroy them.

Wow! I didn't know this. I'm betting that could explain a lot. The situation reminds me of quite a few people I talked to that were in Desert Storm. They had some very strange after-effects from the chemical and biological weapons that "weren't there". It makes me wonder--should someone (not me, someone who actually knows what they're doing) be checking into similarities in the symptoms and weapons?

 

[gngr~snap]

I have been thinking it was the nuclear plant ? in Fukushima Japan. Trade winds head straight there and considering the amount of rainfall Washington State gets it could be in the water supply.
There is a place in CA that gets a lot of rainfall as well. Cannot remember the name... I know both areas have seen an increase in pregnancy miscarriage.
MAY be totally unrelated but I am happy my daughter isn't living at Ft. Lewis Army base any longer and is back in Georgia!!!

I have also heard about growing Thyroid issues in the area. Scares me period.
moo

San Diego CA... Congenital Hyperthyroidism
#'s don't lie. So sad!
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/forum/218/abc-san-diego-alarming-report-fukushima-fallout-harming-us-infants.2013-04-05

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[gngr~snap]

I REALLY wanted to move to Yakima ! The air is so fresh... and sweet! Mountains on one side and valley on the other with a river /water in between... God it was beautiful! I still wanna visit Leavenworth -sp The Christmas town... sigh...

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[AlwaysShocked]

"it's not that big a difference from the average" Yes. It is. It is 4 times the national average. That is significant.

I would look at ingestion before I would look at anything airborne.

 

[kdblaisdell]

This has been on my mind since you posted it and, today, I ran across this:
http://www.trutv.com/conspiracy/bizarre/environmental-disasters/photos.html?curPhoto=radioactive-leak

In February 2013, it was reported that six underground tanks containing 53 million gallons of radioactive and toxic waste were leaking. Authorities say the materials pose no threat to public safety, although it is projected that the waste will eventually seep into local groundwater.