Researchers recently reported that an expectant mother's exposure to drinking water contaminated with the solvent perchloroethylene (PCE) increases the risk of congenital anomalies in her offspring. In particular, exposure of pregnant women to contaminated water at the time of conception was associated with an increased risk of neural tube defects and oral clefts.
The findings come from a study of children who were born to mothers living in certain areas of Cape Cod, Massachusetts between 1969 and 1983. During that period, mothers had been exposed to PCE leaching into public drinking water supplies from the inner vinyl lining of water pipes.
Read further details about this research on MedPage Today.
