SACRAMENTO -- California officials reversed themselves yesterday, warning that the chemical that spilled into the Sacramento River three weeks ago near Dunsmuir may cause birth defects and urging pregnant women in the area to seek testing.
The announcement, which came two weeks after officials said that there was no evidence that metam sodium could cause birth defects, stems from a review of data stored in secret files at the California Department of Food and Agriculture for several years, officials said.
"We have found that high exposure to metam sodium causes birth defects in rats and in rabbits at high doses," said Richard Jackson of the Department of Health Services.