Massive UK crackdown on the use of scores of toxic pesticides: New EU rules, opposed by Gordon Brown, will phase out use of cancer-causing compounds in Britain.

Britain is to get its toughest crackdown on toxic substances in food and the environment, despite determined resistance to the safety measures from Gordon Brown. Scores of pesticides suspected of causing cancer, DNA damage and "gender-bender" effects are to be phased out under new EU rules, which are being hailed as a revolution in the way the public is protected against poisonous chemicals. The use of all pesticides in public places is to be dramatically reduced, with aerial spraying banned anywhere in the country.
The Independent, December 21, 2008

Faulty gene makes children who live near power lines more likely to develop leukaemia

Scientists have found new evidence of a link between overhead power lines and childhood leukaemia. They have identified a defective gene that quadruples the risk of cancers of the blood and bone marrow for carriers who live within 330ft of an overhead cable. The discovery could help explain the findings of a Government-funded study published three years ago. Living near high-voltage power lines increases the risk of childhood leukaemia. It concluded that children who grew up near high-voltage power lines were, on average, almost 70 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with leukaemia than those living further away. Previous studies have suggested that exposure to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) created around power lines can cause damage to the DNA, or genetic blueprint, of animal cells The latest research, which is from China, shows that one in 20 children inherits a faulty copy of a gene that normally helps repair DNA damage, making them more vulnerable to developing leukaemia when young.
Daily Mail, December 20, 2008

The EU is moving towards stricter controls on pesticides after European Parliament negotiators reached a deal with the 27 EU member states. The legislation will ban 22 chemicals that can trigger cancer or cause neural, hormonal or genetic damage. The full parliament is expected to vote on the package in January, then it goes to EU leaders for final approval. Crop scientists and pesticide firms say the controls may create new pest resistance problems and reduce yields. If adopted, the legislation will let member states license pesticides at national level or through mutual recognition. The new rules are meant to replace the EU's 1991 pesticides legislation. The EU is to be divided into three zones - north, centre and south - with compulsory mutual recognition within each zone as the basic rule. Currently pesticide approvals are handled by each individual country. Individual countries will still be able to ban a pesticide because of specific environmental or agricultural circumstances.
BBC NEWS, December 19, 2008

Breast cancer patients who apply moisturizers may be dosing themselves with oestrogen without even knowing it, investigators reported at a breast cancer symposium in San Antonio. Dr. Adrienne Olson, with Breastlink in Hawthorne, California, and colleagues analyzed 16 widely available moisturizers for 0estrogen-like compounds. None of the creams analyzed noted any oestrogen content in their list of ingredients. Even so, six samples contained oestriol or oestrone. Olson, who is a seven-year breast cancer survivor, explained that estrogens applied to the skin are more efficiently absorbed into the body than estrogens taken orally.

She urged women with breast cancer that is driven by oestrogen (that is, oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer) to avoid externally applied oestrogen to minimize the risk of a recurrence. Women without breast cancer are also at risk, she added. If they use oestrogen-containing topical moisturizers, they may be dosing themselves daily with oestrogen for extended periods, thereby boosting their risk of breast cancer.
Reuters Health, December 15, 2008

To determine whether this relationship is modified by immune gene variation, we genotyped 61 polymorphisms in 36 immune genes in 1,172 NHL cases and 982 controls from the NCI-SEER study. We examined three exposures with elevated risk in this study: PCB180 (plasma, dust measurements); the toxic equivalency quotient (an integrated functional measure of several organochlorines) in plasma; and alpha-chlordane (dust measurements, self-reported termiticide use). Plasma (100 cases, 100 controls) and dust (682 cases, 513 controls) levels were treated as natural log-transformed continuous variables. Associations between all three exposures and NHL risk were limited to the same genotypes for IFNG (C-1615T) TT and IL4 (5'-UTR, Ex1-168C>T) CC. Associations between PCB180 in plasma and dust and NHL risk were limited to the same genotypes for IL16 (3' UTR, Ex22+871A>G) AA, IL8 (T-251A) TT, and IL10 (A-1082G) AG|GG. This shows that the relationship between organochlorine exposure and NHL risk may be modified by particular variants in immune genes, and provides one of the first examples of a potential gene-environment interaction for NHL.
Colt, et al., Blood, December 09, 2008

Pollutants in the womb can trigger adult cancers: Mouse study shows fetal exposures may pose long-term risks

Mouse moms exposed late in pregnancy to heavy doses of a carcinogen gave birth to pups that inevitably developed lymphomas and lung cancers, a new study shows. The malignancies generally didn’t show up until the offspring reached the human equivalent of adulthood. The good news: Milk from carcinogen-treated mouse moms posed little added risk. This demonstration “that very short early-life exposures can have major consequences is very important,” observes toxicologist Linda S. Birnbaum of the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Science new, December 09, 2008

A new report finds fewer controversial chemicals in personal care products, such as perfume and hair spray. Some manufacturers are removing or reducing their use of hormone-like ingredients called phthalates, commonly found in fragrances, according to a study released today by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of environmental groups. Environmentalists have called for manufacturers to phase out phthalates because of studies that link them to genital changes in baby boys, reduced sperm counts in men and early puberty in girls. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found phthalates in the urine of nearly everyone tested. The campaign's 2002 study found that more than 70% of 72 products tested contained phthalates. Phthalates usually aren't listed on ingredient labels. They also may leach into products from plastic containers.
USA Today, December 09, 2008

Under pressure from consumer advocates and regulators, some leading beauty companies are using fewer toxic chemicals than they did a few years ago, according to new product tests released today by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The tests, conducted in fall 2008, reveal that at least some segment of the beauty industry has made considerable progress in removing phthalates, a set of industrial chemicals linked to birth defects, asthma, early puberty and decreased sperm counts, according to animal and human studies. However, some companies continue to put high levels of phthalates into fragrance. The tests follow up on the 2002 report “Not Too Pretty,” which revealed that 72% of popular cosmetic products tested – including shampoos, deodorants, fragrances and other products -- contained phthalates.
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (press release), December 09, 2008

Wide-ranging survey reveals low levels of some drugs and pesticides in US tap water. The researchers found small traces of pesticides and drugs in US drinking water. The most comprehensive survey so far has found a slew of drugs, personal care products, pesticides and other contaminants in drinking water being delivered to millions of people across the United States. None of the compounds appeared at levels thought to be immediately harmful to human health. But the researchers were surprised to find widespread traces of a pesticide, used largely in corn (maize) growing, that has, at higher levels, been linked to cancer and other problems.
Nature.com News, December 08, 2008

Evolution is being distorted by pollution, which damages genitals and the ability to father offspring, says new study. The male gender is in danger, with incalculable consequences for both humans and wildlife, startling scientific research from around the world reveals. The research – to be detailed tomorrow in the most comprehensive report yet published – shows that a host of common chemicals is feminising males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals, including people. Backed by some of the world's leading scientists, who say that it "waves a red flag" for humanity and shows that evolution itself is being disrupted, the report comes out at a particularly sensitive time for ministers. On Wednesday, Britain will lead opposition to proposed new European controls on pesticides, many of which have been found to have "gender-bending" effects. It also follows hard on the heels of new American research which shows that baby boys born to women exposed to widespread chemicals in pregnancy are born with smaller penises and feminised genitals.
The Independent, December 07, 2008

Canadian Cancer Society poll results show government action to reduce toxic chemicals a priority for Ontarians. Take Charge on Toxics campaign and website launched.

Poll results released today by the show that Ontarians want action taken to reduce toxic chemicals in their environment even in light of current economic conditions. "Our poll shows Ontarians are concerned about the presence of toxic chemicals in their environments and the impact they have on their health and the health of their families," says Rowena Pinto, Director, Public Affairs, Ontario Division, Canadian Cancer Society. "The public is behind the Ontario government's commitment to implement a toxics reduction strategy," says Pinto. "And the poll showed this support despite an uncertain economic situation."
Canadian Cancer Society, December 04, 2008

Several nuclear receptors have recently been identified as mediators of endocrine disruption as well as steroid hormone receptors. The ubiquitous environmental contaminant tributyltin chloride (TBT) is a ligand for retinoid X receptor (RXR) in rock shell at the nanomolar level, and it acts as a ligand for both the RXR and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ in the frog Xenopus laevis and in humans. TBT, which induces imposex in marine snails and promotes adipogenesis in X. laevis and in mice, is an example of an environmental endocrine disrupter that promotes adverse effects, from the snail to mammals, through common signaling. In addition, juvenile hormone agonists used as pesticides showed endocrinedisruptive effects on parthenogenic Daphnia magna, lowering rates of reproduction, and inducing 100% male offspring. In this article, we focus on commonality in signaling through nuclear receptors and newly found endocrine disruption in D. magna.
Iguchi and Katsu, BioScience, December 01, 2008

Boys born to women exposed to hairspray in the workplace may have a higher risk of being born with a genital defect. Imperial College London scientists talked to women who had babies with hypospadias, where the urinary tract is found away from the penis. They reported that hairspray exposure more than doubled the risk. The study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, said it was too early to say for certain that hairspray was the cause. The incidence of hypospadias has risen sharply in recent decades, and some experts have pointed the finger of suspicion at chemicals called phthalates, found in some plastics, including those found in hairspray.
BBC News, November 21, 2008

Polluters can be successfully sued for emitting annoying odours, dust or noise - even if they are in compliance with government regulations, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday. In a landmark ruling favouring the environmental movement, the court allowed a class action launched by 2,000 citizens near Quebec City who suffered for half a century from an irritating blanket of dust and odour emanating from a St. Lawrence Cement Inc. plant that was located in their midst.
The Globe and Mail, November 21, 2008

Asbestos time bomb still haunts homes and workplaces: National Asbestos Awareness Week

Asbestos-related disease remains a ticking time bomb for Australians because there is no nationally consistent approach to asbestos removal and management in buildings and infrastructure and poor data collection across states and territories, unions said today. As unions and asbestos victims’ organizations mark Asbestos Awareness Week (Nov 23- 29, 2008) with events across the country, the ACTU is calling for greater co-ordination and renewed action to remove asbestos from homes, workplaces and public infrastructure. It is also important employers and government agencies continue to highlight the risks for home owners and tradespeople who attempt renovations or repairs where asbestos may be present. ACTU President Sharan Burrow said: “Australia had one of the highest rates of asbestos use in the world and the highest known rate of mesothelioma sufferers in the world.
Australian Council of Trade Unions, (Media Release), November 21, 2008

When women from 120 middle-class homes learned their bodies contained low levels of toxic chemicals, most of them blamed chemical spills, waste dumping or secret military experiments. They were stunned to learn the truth was closer to home. Most of their exposure came from harmless-looking plastics, flame-retardant clothing, beauty products and household cleaners. A new study says we tend to put too much blame on environmental disasters that don't actually affect us. "It's the consumer products" that bring chemicals into our bodies, says Kathleen Cooper, a researcher for the Canadian Environmental Law Association.
Canwest News Service, November 20, 2008

Occupational exposure to pesticides and lymphoid neoplasms among men: results of a French case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: Investigating the relationship between occupational exposure to pesticides and the risk of lymphoid neoplasms (LN) in men. METHODS: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in six centres in France between 2000 and 2004. The cases were incident cases with a diagnosis of lymphoid neoplasm aged 18 to 75 years. During the same period, controls of the same age and gender as the cases were recruited in the same hospital, mainly in the orthopaedic and rheumatological departments. Exposures to pesticides were evaluated through specific interviews and case-by-case expert reviews. Four hundred and ninety-one cases (244 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), 87 of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), 104 of lymphoproliferative syndromes (LPS) and 56 of multiple myeloma (MM) cases) and 456 controls were included in the analyses. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regressions. RESULTS: Positive associations between HL and occupational exposure to triazole fungicides and urea herbicides were observed (OR=8.4 [2.2-32.4], 10.8 [2.4-48.1] respectively). Exposure to insecticides, fungicides and herbicides were linked to a three-fold increases in MM risk (OR=2.8 [1.2-6.5], 3.2 [1.4-7.2], 2.9 [1.3-6.5]). For LPS subtypes, associations restricted to hairy-cell leukaemia (HCL) were evidenced for exposure to organochlorine insecticides, phenoxy herbicides and triazine herbicides (OR=4.9 [1.1-21.2], 4.1 [1.1-15.5], 5.1 [1.4-19.3], although based on small numbers. Lastly, despite the increased odds ratios for organochlorine and organophosphate insecticides, carbamate fungicides and triazine herbicides, no significant associations were evidenced for NHL. CONCLUSIONS: The results, based on case-by-case expert review of occupation-specific questionnaires, support the hypothesis that occupational pesticide exposures may be involved in HL, MM and HCL and do not rule out a role in NHL. The analyses identified specific pesticides that deserve further investigation and the findings were consistent with those of previous studies.
Orsi, et al., Occup Environ Med, November 18, 2008

Research from Italy provides new evidence that exposure to the industrial solvent benzene increases a person's risk of developing multiple myeloma. Dr. Adele Seniori Constantini of the Center for Study and Prevention of Cancer and her colleagues also found an increased risk of chronic lymphoid leukemia with benzene exposure. Two other oil-derived industrial chemicals, xylene and toluene, were also tied to greater chronic lymphoid leukemia risk. Benzene, a known carcinogen, is used in the manufacturing of plastic, synthetic rubber, dyes and drugs. It is understood to cause acute myeloid leukemia, but its association with multiple myeloma and chronic lymphoid leukemia risk "are still under debate," Constantini and her team explain in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

There was no association between acute myeloid leukemia and benzene, probably, the researchers say, because the disease develops within a relatively short time after exposure, and the cases were diagnosed about 30 years after benzene was "effectively banned" by a 1963 law limiting the amount used in industrial materials to 2 percent. The researchers did find a link between multiple myeloma and chronic lymphoid leukemia and benzene exposure. Overall, medium to high levels of benzene exposure nearly doubled the risk of these two blood cancers. The more intense exposure was and the longer it lasted, the greater the risk.
Reuters, November 18, 2008

Occupation, exposure to chemicals, sensitizing agents, and risk of multiple myeloma in Sweden

This study sought to identify occupations with high incidence of multiple myeloma and to investigate possible excess risk associated with occupational exposure to chemicals and sensitizing agents in Sweden. A historical cohort of 2,992,166 workers was followed up (1971-1989) through record linkage with the National Cancer and Death Registries. For each job category, age and period standardized incidence ratios and age and period adjusted relative risks of multiple myeloma were calculated using Poisson models. Exposure to chemicals and to sensitizing agents was also assessed using two job-exposure matrices. Men and women were analyzed separately. During follow-up, 3,127 and 1,282 myelomas were diagnosed in men and women, respectively. In men, excess risk was detected among working proprietors, agricultural, horticultural and forestry enterprisers, bakers and pastry cooks, dental technicians, stone cutters/carvers, and prison/reformatory officials. In women, this excess was observed among attendants in psychiatric care, metal workers, bakers and pastry cooks, and paper/paperboard product workers. Workers, particularly bakers and pastry cooks, exposed to high molecular weight sensitizing agents registered an excess risk of over 40% across the sexes. Occasional, although intense, exposure to pesticides was also associated with risk of myeloma in our cohort. Our study supports a possible etiologic role for farming and use of pesticides in myeloma risk. The high incidence found in both female and male bakers and pastry cooks has not been described previously. Further research is required to assess the influence of high molecular weight sensitizing agents on risk of multiple myeloma.
Lope, et al., Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, November17, 2008

An environmental campaigner yesterday won a landmark victory against the government in a long-running legal battle over the use of pesticides. The high court ruled that Georgina Downs, who runs the UK Pesticides Campaign, had produced "solid evidence" that people exposed to chemicals used to spray crops had suffered harm. The court said the government had failed to comply with a European directive designed to protect rural communities from exposure to the toxins. It said the environment department, Defra, must reassess its policy and investigate the risks to people who are exposed. Defra had argued that its approach to the regulation and control of pesticides was "reasonable, logical and lawful". Downs, who lives on the edge of farmland near Chichester, West Sussex, launched her campaign in 2001. The judge described how she was first exposed to pesticide spraying at the age of 11 "and began to suffer from ill health, in particular flu-like symptoms, a sore throat, blistering and other problems". Downs said the government had failed to address the concerns of people living in the countryside "who are repeatedly exposed to mixtures of pesticides and other chemicals throughout every year, and in many cases, like mine, for decades". People were not given prior notification about what was to be sprayed near their homes and gardens, she said.
The Guardian, November 15, 2008

Agency holding conference with leading scientists on hotly contested issue of restricting agricultural bug and weed killers For years, the Canadian Cancer Society has argued in favour of bans on the cosmetic use of pesticides around homes and gardens. But it has remained silent on the country's biggest use of bug and weed killers: on farms. Now, the society is considering weighing in on whether these sprays pose a cancer risk to farmers, other rural residents near them, and to the wider public from eating foods carrying pesticide residues. To that end, the society is holding a conference starting today at which it has assembled experts to advise it on whether cosmetic-pesticide restrictions, which now exist in Ontario, Quebec and many municipalities, should be followed by tougher action against the use of the sprays in agriculture. The society doesn't have a view on the related issue of whether organically grown foods are a better option, a topic that will also be discussed.
Globe and Mail, November 12, 2008

Child leukemia death rates increase near u.s. nuclear plants – rises greatest near oldest plants, declines near closed plants

Leukemia death rates in U.S. children near nuclear reactors rose sharply (vs. the national trend) in the past two decades, according to a recent study. The greatest mortality increases occurred near the oldest nuclear plants, while declines were observed near plants that closed permanently in the 1980s and 1990s. The study was published in the most recent issue of the European Journal of Cancer Care. The study updates an analysis conducted in the late 1980s by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). That analysis, mandated by Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), is the only attempt federal officials have made to examine cancer rates near U.S. nuclear plants.
European Journal of Cancer Care, November 11, 2008

A study of Vietnam War era veterans shows that exposure to Agent Orange is associated with more than a two-fold increased risk of prostate cancer, earlier disease onset, and prostate cancer with more aggressive features. "Consideration should be made to classify this group of individuals as 'high risk', just like men of African-American heritage and men with a family history of prostate cancer," Dr. Karim Chamie, from the University of California Davis, Sacramento, and colleagues recommend.
Reuters, November 10, 2008

Smoking is not the only cause of cancer and we need to find out why people in some jobs are more vulnerable to the disease. The word cancer was once uttered in hushed voices, if at all. The media considered the subject depressing and avoided it until the advent of trauma television. Few now use euphemisms such as “the big C”. We talk openly about cancer and its causes. No longer is it considered a random, unspeakable act of God or nature. But where fear has disappeared, blame takes its place. An emphasis on prevention that urges lifestyle changes means those who already live with cancer are tormented by thoughts it might be self-inflicted. Smoking is said to affect many more organs than the lungs, but to cigarettes we must now add hormone replacement treatment, bacon sandwiches, roast beef dinners, any level of alcohol, burnt toast, delayed childbearing, being overweight or too sedentary, lying in the sun, bottle feeding or — in those too old to get the new cervical cancer vaccine — having sex.

The European Journal of Oncology this month publishes Scottish research that suggests carcinogens at work kill many more people than the government claims. Professor Andrew Watterson, at Stirling University , says between 10% and 12% of fatal cancers in Scotland relate to occupation. That would mean 1,800 deaths a year — many more than those killed by road accidents, murder and suicide. All these trends are subject to high-profile government campaigns. We should be just as concerned that people die earning a living. Often, they are ignorant about the cause of their illness, as are their doctors. They lacked the information to make a safe career choice.
The Sunday Times, November 09, 2008

More people are dying from work-related cancers than previously thought, according to research. Professor Andrew Watterson from the University of Stirling estimated that about 1,800 cancer deaths a year are the result of work-related factors. He has called for the Scottish Government to legislate to reduce toxic pollution. Ministers said that while they took the issue "extremely seriously", regulation was reserved to Westminster. Writing in the European Journal of Oncology, Prof Watterson, an expert in occupational health, said more people were being exposed to cancer causing materials than ever before. He estimated that about 10% of all cancers were work related.
BBC NEWS, November 07, 2008

The Food and Drug Administration, in the aftermath of stinging criticism from a subcommittee of its own science board and under pressure from consumer groups, expects to make a decision before February on whether to limit exposure from bisphenol A or ban its use in polycarbonate baby bottles and other feeding products for infants. In addition, both FDA science board Chairwoman Barbara McNeil and FDA principal deputy commissioner and chief scientist Frank Torti said at an Oct. 31 public hearing that the agency would launch an investigation of BPA exposure levels in blood container products and intravenous tubing.
Plastics News, November 04, 2008

Non Hodgkin's lymphoma risk and past dioxin emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators

Dioxin emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators are one of the major sources of dioxins and therefore are an exposure source of public concern. There is growing epidemiologic evidence of an increased risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in the vicinity of some municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) with high dioxin emission levels. The purpose of this study was to examine this association on a larger population scale. A total of 3974 NHL incident cases was observed (2147 among males, and 1827 among females) during the 1990-1999 time period. A statistically significant relationship was found at the block group level between NHL incidence and dioxin exposure, with a relative risk (RR) of 1.120 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.003 - 1.250) for persons living in highly exposed census blocks compared to those living in slightly exposed block groups. Post-hoc subgroup analyses per gender yielded a significant RR for females only (RR=1.187, 95% CI 1.020 - 1.382). This study, in line with previous results obtained in the vicinity of the incinerator located in Besancon (France), adds further evidence to the link between NHL incidence and exposure to dioxins emitted by municipal solid waste incinerators. However, the findings of this study cannot be extrapolated to current incinerators, which emit lower amounts of pollutants.
Viel, et al., Environmental Health, October 28, 2008

An international team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Basel in Switzerland have issued a report on the mechanism of toxicity of a chemical compound called Dibutyltin (DBT). Their findings will be published by PloS ONE on October 28. DBT is part of a class of high toxic and widely distributed chemical compounds called organotins, DBT is most commonly used as an anti-fouling agent in paint, for example in the fishing and shipbuilding industries. It is also used in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tubes and bottles. According to co-lead investigators Michael E. Baker, Ph.D., researcher in UC San Diego's Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, and Alex Odermatt, Ph.D., at the University of Basel, DBT is closely related to tributyltin (TBT), another well-known pollutant. Concern about the side effects of TBT led the United Nations' International Maritime Organization to organize a global ban on its use. "TBT is metabolized by the body's liver into DBT," the scientists explained. "Humans are also exposed to DBT by drinking water from PVC pipes. Because it is poorly broken down, DBT remains in the environment and it appears that its toxic effects are more rapid and more pronounced than those of TBT."
Medical News Today, October 28, 2008

For all the pink ribbons, breast-cancer awareness events, fund-raisers, and celebrations of "survivorship," the facts remain grim. In this country, a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer is one in eight. In 1975, the risk was about one in 11. Outside of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. It is estimated that in 2008 there will be 250,230 new cases of breast cancer among women. An estimated 41,000 women will die of metastatic breast cancer in 2008. Because we still do not know what the causes of breast cancer are, primary prevention remains an elusive goal while mammography and early detection are the focus of attention. Since World War II, the proliferation of synthetic chemicals has gone hand-in-hand with the increased incidence of breast cancer. About 80,000 synthetic chemicals are used today in the United States, and their number increases by about 1,000 each year. Only about 7 percent of them have been screened for their health effects. These chemicals can persist in the environment and accumulate in our bodies. According to a recent review by the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, 216 chemicals and radiation sources cause breast cancer in animals.
Boston Globe, October 27, 2008

Report Finds Risks of Developing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases Can Be Dramatically Reduced
Environmental factors are key drivers in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, according to the authors of a new report, Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging, released today. Importantly, the report demonstrates that the risks for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s can be dramatically reduced. It offers the most comprehensive review of the currently available research on the lifetime influences of environmental factors on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, two of the most common degenerative diseases of the brain. These influences include common dietary patterns, toxic chemical exposures, inadequate exercise, socio-economic stress and other factors. These influences can begin in the womb and continue throughout life, setting the stage for the later development of neurodegenerative as well as other chronic diseases.
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Science and Environmental Health Network, October 23, 2008

Cavities or chemicals? That’s the dilemma for parents worried about a controversial substance found in the popular sealants that are painted on children’s molars to prevent decay. The chemical is bisphenol-A, or BPA, which is widely used in the making of the hard, clear plastic called polycarbonate, and is also found in the linings of food and soft-drink cans. Most human exposure to the chemical clearly comes from the food supply. But traces have also been found in dental sealants. Although the Food and Drug Administration has reassured consumers that the chemical appears to be safe, it has received increasing scrutiny in recent months from health officials in the United States and Canada .
The New York Times, October 20, 2008

The federal government has decided to add bisphenol A to the country's list of toxic substances, a move that is likely to renew attention on the widespread use of the controversial chemical in almost all food cans sold in Canada. The toxic determination, issued in today's Canada Gazette, makes Canada the first country to classify as risky bisphenol A, the chemical building block for polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. The government took the action based on worries that infants up to the age of 18 months might be inadvertently getting too much of the chemical, which mimics the hormone estrogen, from baby formula cans and plastic baby bottles, as well concerns that fish and other wildlife could be harmed from environmental exposure. The federal statement didn't raise concerns over adult exposure.
The Globe and Mail, October 18, 2008

Estrogen regulates snail and slug in the down-regulation of E-Cadherin and induces metastatic potential of ovarian cancer cells through estrogen receptor α. New research indicates that estrogen may enhance the aggressive behavior of cancer by promoting movement of cancer cells from the ovaries to other body organs. A new cell study from researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, indicate that estrogen may be the reason cancer cells becomes aggressive and move from the ovaries to other parts of the body. Because many environmental chemicals induce the making of the natural estrogen estradiol in body tissues, these results point to a potential way by which endocrine disruptors may contribute to the severity of ovarian cancer disease. Limiting estrogen exposure to both natural and synthetic estrogens and estrogen-mimicking compounds might be one way to stem the spread of ovarian cancer.
Park, et al., Molecular Endocrinology, October 17, 2008

Nicotine, whether absorbed by smoking cigarettes or inhaling second-hand smoke, may promote tumor growth and the spread of breast cancer, a study found. Nicotine made breast cancer cells more likely to multiply and migrate in laboratory tests, according to the study published in yesterday's issue of the journal Cancer Research. Such evidence also suggests that nicotine given to help people stop smoking should be used cautiously. Scientists had thought for some time that the toxic, cancer-causing components of cigarettes were ingredients other than nicotine, said Michael Thun, the head of epidemiology for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, who wasn't involved in the study. Yesterday's study adds to other recent evidence that nicotine may also play a role in cancer, he said. "Nicotine may have other adverse effects, in addition to addiction," Thun said in a telephone interview. "What it all adds up to is that the best thing you can do is avoid exposure to tobacco smoke."
Boston Globe, October 16, 2008

The risks from exposure to outdoor pollution or sources like tobacco smoke are well known, but indoor dust can also pose health risks, especially to young children. New evidence shows that indoor dust is highly contaminated by persistent and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including some chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which have been banned since the 1970s. Dust collected from vacuum cleaners used in apartments and a community hall was highly contaminated with endocrine disruptors, in particular phthalates and PBDEs. The levels of PCBs were high enough in some cases to be a health concern, illustrating that these chemicals continue to persist in the environment and pose risks.
Science for Environmental Policy, October 09, 2008

A committee of member state experts has agreed a list of 14 high-concern substances whose production and use could eventually require special authorisation under the Reach regulation. This is the first group of substances to be identified as "very high concern" (SVHCs) chemicals under Reach. Nearly all substances in a draft list published by the European chemicals agency (Echa) earlier this year were approved (EED 02/07/08). These include three phthalates and the brominated flame retardant HBCDD. Chemical cyclododecane was excluded from the hit-list. A fifteenth substance, triethyl arsenate, was also added without formal committee approval. Green groups welcomed the announcement. Once the list is officially published, companies will be obliged to inform consumers within 45 days whether the high-concern substances are present in products sold on the EU market, the groups say.
ENDS Europe, October, 09, 2008

Regular use of talc in the genital area was significantly associated with an increased risk for ovarian cancer in a new analysis reported in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. The researchers say that genital use of talc should be avoided. This is not a new finding — the association between genital talc use and an increased risk for ovarian cancer has been reported previously, and was confirmed in a meta-analysis of 16 studies. These latest results "provide additional support for a main effect of genital talc exposure on epithelial ovarian cancer," say the researchers. Also, the finding of highly significant trends between increasing frequency of use and risk "strengthens the evidence of an association, because most previous studies have not observed a dose response," they point out.
Medscape Medical News, October 08, 2008

Newborn babies who are exposed to air pollution in the womb have to breathe faster to get more oxygen into their lungs, according to research confirming environmental fumes can damage a child's lungs before birth. A study of 241 Swiss infants shows for the first time that the more pollution a pregnant woman breathes in, the more her baby will struggle for breath. Australian child health experts say the findings support recent research on Brisbane mothers and help build a case for more environmentally-friendly
town planning and better efforts to avoid pollutants in pregnancy. "This is scary proof that we need to be paying a lot more attention to how we are designing our cities," said Professor Peter Sly, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research on Children's Environmental Health in Perth.
The Western Australian, October 08, 2008

Today, we're confronted with a cancer epidemic. One French person out of four will die of cancer. And quite frequently before the age of 65. I myself have been on the wrong side of the statistics since I was 31, when I discovered I had a brain tumor. Since 1940, our societies are witness to a rapid and significant increase in the most common cancers (lung, breast, prostate, colon). That is partly explained by the fact that more of us are living longer - long enough to develop cancer - and that we know more about detecting it. But those two factors only partially explain the increase in cancers. For the statistics among children and adolescents are also on the rise: by 1 to 1.5 percent annually since the 1970s. And there's the issue of cancers that we are not tracking down.
Le Monde, October 07, 2008

Baby boys are more likely to have changes in their genitals — such as undescended testicles and smaller penises — if their mothers were exposed to high levels of a controversial chemical during pregnancy, a new study shows. Virtually everyone has been exposed to the chemicals, called phthalates, which are used in countless plastic products and are found in everything from drinking water to breast milk to household dust, according to the study, published in the current issue of Environmental Research. Until recently, most studies have been conducted in animals. Those tests suggest that phthalates interfere with the male sex hormone testosterone, causing a "phthalate syndrome" in male fetuses that changes the way their genitals develop, says study author Shanna Swan, a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
USA Today, October 02, 2008

Your article "Tests for drugs in tap water" (29 September) is an important one and touches a key public health issue. It is not only chemotherapy drugs which end up in aquatic systems: medicines for pain relief, heart drugs, the Pill and antibiotics do too. Some have biological effects at very low concentrations. Three areas need prompt consideration: improved sewage treatment, evaluation of the use of sewage sludge on farmland, and "take back" schemes whereby the general public should return all old medicines to pharmacies for correct disposal. The last is now in UK law, but the public has not been properly educated about what to do.
Jamie Page, The Cancer Prevention and Education Society, The Independent, October 01, 2008

Californians have the world’s highest levels of toxic flame retardants in their homes and in their bodies, according to new scientific findings published Wednesday. Household dust tested in Richmond and Bolinas had four to ten times more brominated flame retardants than other American homes and 200 times more than European homes. Statewide, Californians had twice as much in their blood than other U.S. residents. The lower the income, the more contaminated the homes and the people who inhabit them. The main reason for California’s high exposure may be the state’s flammability standard for furniture, which is the most stringent in the world. To comply, many manufacturers added chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to polyurethane foam cushions for couches and chairs. “It’s sobering to realize that this one well-intended regulation in California has resulted in the global contamination of a persistent toxic pollutant,” said Ami Zota, a scientist at the Silent Spring Institute, a Massachusetts-based institution, who led the study. “These chemicals have been detected in nearly every species across the globe.”
Environmental Health News, October 01, 2008

Pesticide exposure as risk factor for non-Hodgkin lymphoma including histopathological subgroup analysis.

We report a population based case-control study of exposure to pesticides as risk factor for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Male and female subjects aged 18-74 years living in Sweden were included during December 1, 1999, to April 30, 2002. Controls were selected from the national population registry. Exposure to different agents was assessed by questionnaire. In total 910 (91 %) cases and 1016 (92%) controls participated. Exposure to herbicides gave odds ratio (OR) 1.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-2.51. Regarding phenoxyacetic acids highest risk was calculated for MCPA; OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.27-6.22, all these cases had a latency period >10 years. Exposure to glyphosate gave OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.10-3.71 and with >10 years latency period OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.16-4.40. Insecticides overall gave OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.96-1.72 and impregnating agents OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.07-2.30. Results are also presented for different entities of NHL. In conclusion our study confirmed an association between exposure to phenoxyacetic acids and NHL and the association with glyphosate was considerably strengthened.
Eriksson, et al., Int J Cancer, October 01, 2008

Children's environmental health: intergenerational equity in action--a civil society perspective

Since World War II, approximately 80,000 new commercial synthetic chemicals have been reeased into the environment, with approximately 1500 new chemicals released annually. Most of these have not been adequately tested for their impacts on human health or their particular impacts on children and the developing fetus. Yet, children are exposed to hazardous chemicals through residues in their food, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and through household products and contaminated house dust. Many of these synthetic chemicals are persistent and bio-accumulative, remaining in the human body long after exposure. Developing fetuses acquire toxic chemicals that have bioaccumulated in the mother's body and readily cross the placental barrier. Babies are now born with many man-made chemicals in their small bodies. Newborns take in more through breast milk or formula. There are no tests to assess the combined impacts of the "chemical soup" to which children are exposed. WHO, UNICEF, and UNEP have reported a growing number of children's health impacts caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals, including asthma, birth defects, hypospadias, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, autism, cancer, dysfunctional immune systems, neurological impairments, and reproductive disorders. WHO states that approximately 3 million children under the age of five die every year due to environmental hazards, and this is not limited to developing countries. All children, both in the developing and developed world are affected by exposure to hazardous chemicals. In 2004, the European Union's Ministerial Conference on Children's Environmental Health identified air pollution, unsafe water conditions, and lead exposure as the main culprits in the death and disabling of children in Europe. The conference found that by reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals, the lives of many children could be saved. The key issues in children's environmental health and potential policy and management remedies are examined from both national (Australian) and international perspectives.
Lloyd-Smith and Sheffield-Brotherton, Ann N Y Acad Sci, October 01, 2008

The Precautionary Principal at work? Pesticides, soft-tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma--historical aspects on the precautionary principle in cancer prevention.

BACKGROUND: After the 2(nd) World War a long range of chemical agents have been introduced on the market, both in Sweden and most other countries. From the 1950's several pesticides gained increasing use in agriculture and forestry. In the 1970's public concern increased in Sweden especially regarding use of phenoxy herbicides to combat deciduous wood, although statements from different authorities were reassuring of the safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At the end of the 1970's the author and his colleagues published the first scientific evidence of an association between exposure to phenoxyacetic acids, chlorophenols and certain malignant tumours, i.e., soft-tissue sarcoma and malignant lymphoma. The study subjects were also exposed to contaminating dioxins such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Later studies showed also an association between certain persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with an interaction with titers of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus early antigen. These results have been corroborated in other studies. DISCUSSION: Over the years industry and its allied experts have attacked our studies, but in 1997 IARC classified TCDD as a human carcinogen, Group I. The increasing incidence of NHL in Sweden levelled off about 1990. The author postulated that the regulation or ban of the use of chlorophenols, certain phenoxy herbicides and some persistent organic pollutants in Sweden back in the 1970s has contributed to the now decreasing incidence of NHL. Unfounded criticism from industry experts may prohibit the precautionary principle and early warnings of cancer risk can be ignored. Cancer risks by certain chlorinated phenols may serve as a model of how the precautionary principle should be used by taking early warnings seriously.
Hardell L, Acta Oncol. 2008;47(3):347-54.

Heterocyclic aromatic amine pesticide use and human cancer risk: Results from the U.S. Agricultural Health Study.

Imazethapyr, a heterocyclic aromatic amine, is a widely used crop herbicide first registered for use in the United States in 1989. We evaluated cancer incidence among imazethapyr-exposed pesticide applicators enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). The AHS is a prospective cohort of 57,311 licensed pesticide applicators in the U.S., enrolled from 1993-1997. Among the 49,398 licensed pesticide applicators eligible for analysis, 20,646 applicators reported use of imazethapyr and 2,907 incident cancers developed through 2004. Imazethapyr exposure was classified by intensity-weighted lifetime exposure days calculated as [years of use x days per year x intensity level]. Poisson regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between imazethapyr exposure and cancer incidence. We found significant trends in risk with increasing lifetime exposure for bladder cancer (p for trend 0.01) and colon cancer (p for trend 0.02). Rate ratios (RRs) were increased by 137% for bladder cancer and 78% for colon cancer when the highest exposed were compared to the nonexposed. The excess risk for colon cancer was limited to proximal cancers, (RR = 2.73, 95% confidence intervals 1.42, 5.25, p for trend 0.001). No association was observed for prostate, lung, rectum, kidney, oral, pancreas, lymphohematopoietic cancers or melanoma. These findings provide new evidence that exposure to aromatic amine pesticides may be an overlooked exposure in the etiology of bladder and colon cancer. The use of imazethapyr and other imidazolinone compounds should continue to be evaluated for potential risk to humans.
Koutros, et al., Int J Cancer, September 24, 2008

The authors examined incident glioma and meningioma risk associated with occupational exposure to insecticides and herbicides in a hospital-based, case-control study of brain cancer. Cases were 462 glioma and 195 meningioma patients diagnosed between 1994 and 1998 in three US hospitals. Controls were 765 patients admitted to the same hospitals for nonmalignant conditions. Occupational histories were collected during personal interviews. Exposure to pesticides was estimated by use of a questionnaire, combined with pesticide measurement data abstracted from published sources. Using logistic regression models, the authors found no association between insecticide and herbicide exposures and risk for glioma and meningioma. There was no association between glioma and exposure to insecticides or herbicides, in men or women. Women who reported ever using herbicides had a significantly increased risk for meningioma compared with women who never used herbicides (odds ratio = 2.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.4, 4.3), and there were significant trends of increasing risk with increasing years of herbicide exposure (p = 0.01) and increasing cumulative exposure (p = 0.01). There was no association between meningioma and herbicide or insecticide exposure among men. These findings highlight the need to go beyond job title to elucidate potential carcinogenic exposures within different occupations.
Samanic, et al., Am J Epidemiol, April 15, 2008

Drinking water supplies are to be tested for the presence of prescription drugs amid fears that rivers are being contaminated by the growing quantity of pharmaceuticals flushed unwittingly down the drain. The Government has commissioned scientists to test river water at intake points where it is abstracted for human consumption, The Independent can reveal. They will also test drinking water after it has been through the water-treatment cycle. Under a pilot project to begin next year, supplies will be examined for about five of the most common and potentially dangerous prescription drugs. The experts will meet over the next few weeks to decide which drugs to look for and where testing should be carried out. However, an insider said this was likely to be at selected sites on the river Thames because its water-catchment area covered the most densely populated part of the country. Powerful anti-cancer drugs are of particular concern as they can be excreted unaltered from the body into the sewerage system. They are thought to be potentially dangerous because they are highly toxic to dividing cells, are easily dissolved in water and are difficult to destroy by conventional water-treatment techniques.

Two new 'green chemistry' laws focus the state program on the most dangerous substances. California today launched the most comprehensive program of any state to evaluate, label and, in some cases, ban industrial chemicals that are linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other deadly effects on human health. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new legislation to shift the state away from a scattershot approach in which bills targeting hazardous chemicals in products such as jewelry, baby bottles, toys, mattresses, computers and cosmetics have passed or failed depending on the intensity of the lobbying and media attention. Instead of a product-by-product approach, two new laws are designed to encompass 80,000 chemicals now in circulation, focus on the most dangerous, widespread substances first and control them at the manufacturing stage, before they leach into the air, water or human skin.

Kerrisdale computer consultant Carl Katz doesn't want his children bathed in a sea of radiation from wireless technology at their school. Katz and the Parents for Safe Computing this week presented a petition signed by parents troubled by the health effects of Wi-Fi. Vancouver Province, British Columbia. 25 September 2008.

ECHA has launched today a new section, ECHA CHEM, on its website. Under this section you will find public information and documents from REACH processes as they become available. The first information to be published is the Registry of Intentions. The registry will list the intentions of the Member States Competent Authorities / the Commission to submit proposals for 1) identification of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), 2) harmonised classification and labelling, and 3) restrictions. The List of Pre-registered substances, the Candidate List of SVHC for authorisation and public information on registered substances will be made available in this web section at later stage. The public registry of intentions will allow interested parties to become aware of the substances for which the authorities intend to submit such proposals (in the form of an Annex XV dossier). It will also avoid duplication of work and encourage co-operation between Member States when preparing such proposals. Later in the process after the final proposals have been submitted to ECHA interested parties will be able to comment these on the Consultation section of the ECHA website.

CR issues consensus statement on the control of pesticides in the EU: a call to action to protect human health

The Collegium Ramazzini, an international academy of 180 experts in environmental sciences and occupational health, has published a new consensus statement on the control of pesticides in the European Union. The brief position paper, which urges the EU to adopt strong legislation to protect public health and the environment against adverse effects of pesticides, has been sent to Members of the European Parliament and government representatives currently debating a proposed Regulation on the placing of plant protection products on the market.

Alarming new research from Sweden on the effects of radiation raises fears that today's youngsters face an epidemic of the disease in later life. The Swedish research was reported this month at the first international conference on mobile phones and health. Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates. The study, experts say, raises fears that today's young people may suffer an "epidemic" of the disease in later life. At least nine out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 per cent of primary schoolchildren.

Scan your home: If you own a TV, computer, mattress or couch, then flame retardants are a part of your life and may be an unwelcome visitor in your bloodstream, too. Nearly all Americans tested have trace levels of flame retardants -- chemical materials that resist the spread of fire -- in their system. But the first nationwide study of the chemical in children and their parents released this month found that toddlers and preschoolers had three times more of the compound -- polybrominated diphenyl ethers, known as PBDEs – in their bodies as their mothers. Findings by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group are bolstering calls by Michigan health and environmental organizations to pass legislation pending in the Michigan House that proposes banning deca-PBDE -- one of three types of PBDEs -- in furniture, mattresses and electronics. Penta- and octa-PBDE have already been banned in the United States.

The European Parliament has voted 522 to 16 to recommend tighter safety standards for cell phones. In light of the growing body of scientific evidence implicating cell phone use with brain tumours, the Parliament says, "The limits on exposure to electromagnetic fields [EMFs] which have been set for the general public are obsolete." The European Parliament "is greatly concerned at the Bio-Initiative international report concerning EMFs, which summarises over 1500 studies on that topic and which points in its conclusions to the health risks posed by emissions from mobile-telephony devices such as mobile telephones, UMTS, WiFi, WiMax and Bluetooth, and also DECT landline te

The first large-scale human study of a chemical widely used in plastic products, including baby bottles and tin can linings, found double the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver problems in people with the highest concentrations in their urine, British researchers reported Tuesday. The findings confirm earlier results obtained in animals, increasing pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to limit use of the chemical Bisphenol A, commonly called BPA. The chemical is the primary ingredient of polycarbonate plastics, which are found in myriad modern products, such DVDs, drinking bottles and lenses of sunglasses.
Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2008

Phthalates Impair Germ Cell Development in the Human Fetal Testis in vitro Without Change in Testosterone Production

Several studies have described an increasing frequency of male reproductive disorders, which may have a common origin in fetal life and which are hypothesized to be caused by endocrine disruptors. Phthalates esters represent a class of environmental endocrine active chemicals known to disrupt development of the male reproductive tract by decreasing testosterone production in fetal rat. Using the organ culture system we previously developed, we investigated the effects on the development of human fetal testis of one phthalate, MEHP (mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate), an industrial chemical found in many products, incriminated as a disruptor of male reproductive function.Whatever the dose, MEHP treatment had no effect on basal or LH-stimulated testosterone produced by the human fetal testis in vitro, whereas the testosterone production can be modulated in our culture system. MEHP (10-4 M) did not affect proliferation and apoptosis of Sertoli cells, but it reduced the mRNA expression of AMH. Lastly, MEHP (10-4 M) reduced the number of germ cells by increasing their apoptosis, measured by the detection of caspase- 3-positive germ cells, without modification of their proliferation.This is the first experimental demonstration that phthalates alter the development of the germ cell lineage in human. However, on the contrary to the results observed in the rat, phthalates didn’t affect steroidogenesis.

Children exposed to pesticide in womb twice as likely to be overweight, refuting idea of sole personal responsibility. Pollution can make children fat, startling new research shows. A groundbreaking Spanish study indicates that exposure to a range of common chemicals before birth sets up a baby to grow up stout, thus helping to drive the worldwide obesity epidemic. The results of the study, just published – the first to link chemical contamination in the womb with one of the developing world's greatest and fastest-growing health crises – carry huge potential implications for public policy around the globe. They undermine recent strictures from the Conservative leader, David Cameron, that blame solely the obese for their own condition.

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have linked a chemical found in everyday plastics to problems with brain function and mood disorders in monkeys -- the first time the chemical has been connected to health problems in primates. The study is the latest in an accumulation of research that has raises concerns about bisphenol A, or BPA, a compound that gives a shatterproof quality to polycarbonate plastic and has been found to leach from plastic into food and water. The Yale study comes as federal toxicologists yesterday reaffirmed an earlier draft report finding that there is "some concern" that bisphenol A can cause developmental problems in the brain and hormonal systems of infants and children. "There remains considerable uncertainty whether the changes seen in the animal studies are directly applicable to humans, and whether they would result in clear adverse health effects," John R. Bucher, associate director of the National Toxicology Program, said in a statement. "But we have concluded that the possibility that BPA may affect human development cannot be dismissed."

Pregnant women have been told that using perfumes or scented creams may increase the risk of unborn boys developing infertility in later life. Edinburgh University researchers claimed a crucial window between eight and 12 weeks of pregnancy determined future reproductive problems. They believe that exposure to chemicals found in cosmetics during this period may affect later sperm production. But they stressed there was not yet conclusive proof this was the case. The research team was led by Professor Richard Sharpe of the Medical Research Council's Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, based in Edinburgh. Prof Sharpe said the chemicals may also increase the risk of baby boys developing other reproductive conditions in later life, including testicular cancer.

A four page feature in The Guardian G2 looks at the role sewage sludge can play in farming. Rose George visits a sewerage treatment works near Birmingham and speaks to the increasingly vocal anti-sludge movement in the US where its use has been linked to a number of illnesses.
The Guardian - G2, Aug 29, 2008, (pp.10-13)

Four commonly used moisturizers promoted skin cancers in mouse studies. Mice are not men. But the unexpected finding suggests that these -- and perhaps other products -- may not be as safe as they're thought to be. The moisturizers tested in the study were Dermabase, Dermovan (a wholesale-only product discontinued in 2006), Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream, and Vanicream. In a mouse model of sun-related skin cancer, frequent application of each product resulted in more skin tumors and faster tumor growth, says study leader Allan H. Conney, PhD, director of the Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research and professor in the school of pharmacy at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.

high-risk mice

Irradiation of SKH-1 mice with UVB (30 mJ cm-2) twice a week for 20 weeks resulted in mice with a high risk of developing skin tumors over the next several months in the absence of further irradiation with UVB (high-risk mice). Topical applications of 100 mg of Dermabase, Dermovan, Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream (Eucerin), or Vanicream once a day, 5 days a week for 17 weeks to these high-risk mice increased significantly the rate of formation of tumors and the rate of increase in tumor size per mouse. Additional studies indicated that treatment of high-risk mice with Dermabase, Dermovan, Eucerin, or Vanicream for 17 weeks increased the total number of histologically characterized tumors by 69% (average of two experiments; P<0.0001 in each experiment), 95% (P<0.0001), 24% (P<0.01), and 58% (P<0.0001), respectively. Topical applications of a specially designed Custom Blend cream to high-risk mice was not tumorigenic. The results indicate that several commercially available moisturizing creams increase the rate of formation and number of tumors when applied topically to UVB-pretreated high-risk mice. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of topical applications of moisturizing creams on sunlight-induced skin cancer in humans.

The chemistry of beauty: What’s in all those beauty products? The truth isn’t pretty.

Twenty-six years into life and I still don’t quite grasp beauty. I know what it’s supposed to be: high cheekbones, long neck, plump lips, glossy hair, no cellulite, eternal youth. These idealistic standards are demanded of American women, what Naomi Wolf calls “the beauty myth,” the societal force that keeps women and girls vulnerable, insecure and preoccupied. And it does. Women use an average of a dozen personal-care products a day and men use about six. Female teenagers tend to use even more. My own daily regime involves the application of 10 products, including shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, face wash, moisturizer, body lotion, foundation, mascara and eyeliner. But makeup and tanning creams and teeth-whitening strips and age-defying lotions aren’t only about the outside appearance. We’re putting more and more chemical compounds into ourselves through personal-care products, with incomplete knowledge of the affect of these synthetic materials on our bodies and health, and for pregnant women, the health of their unborn babies. You know those 12 products women use daily? That adds up to some 168 chemical ingredients, and men’s habits total about 85 ingredients. I deposit about 110 chemicals into my body every day. Add to these numbers the fact that toxins pervade our environment—our drinking water, air, food and plastics. We’re each contaminated with hundreds of industrial chemicals, including plasticizers, flame retardants, stain repellents and pesticides that have been linked to cancer, immune-system damage and reproductive and developmental toxicity.

Occupational exposures and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: Canadian case-control study

The objective was to study the association between Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) and occupational exposures related to long held occupations among males in six provinces of Canada. METHODS: A population based case-control study was conducted from 1991 to 1994. Males with newly diagnosed NHL (ICD-10) were stratified by province of residence and age group. A total of 513 incident cases and 1506 population based controls were included in the analysis. Conditional logistic regression was conducted to fit statistical models.RESULTS: Based on conditional logistic regression modeling, the following factors independently increased the risk of NHL: farmer and machinist as long held occupations; constant exposure to diesel exhaust fumes; constant exposure to ionizing radiation (radium); and personal history of another cancer. Men who had worked for 20 years or more as farmer and machinist were the most likely to develop NHL. CONCLUSIONS: An increased risk of developing NHL is associated with the following: long held occupations of farmer and machinist; exposure to diesel fumes; and exposure to ionizing radiation (radium). The risk of NHL increased with the duration of employment as a farmer or machinist.

UC Davis study: Agent Orange exposure doubles veterans' likelihood of getting prostate cancer

Veterans exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange are twice as likely to get prostate cancer as other veterans, UC Davis researchers found in a study published online by the journal Cancer. Prostate cancer in those men also comes on earlier and is more aggressive, said Dr. Karim Chaime, chief resident in urology at UC Davis and the study's lead author. The findings are a clear signal that men who worked with Agent Orange should be cared for differently, getting earlier biopsies and more aggressive treatment, he said. "This is a high-risk group." Chaime described the study of more than 13,000 Northern California veterans over eight years as "the biggest study ever done" on Agent Orange effects. It will be published in the Sept. 15 print edition of Cancer, after online publication last week, and Chaime hopes it soon could lead to new Department of Veterans Affairs treatment standards.

Breakthrough: Scientists discover vital new link between radiation and breast cancer

Low-dose radiation has helped scientists at Scottish university unravel susceptibility to breast cancer. In a breakthrough study, scientists at St Andrews University's Bute Medical School are investigating a vital link between radiation sensitivity and breast cancer susceptibility. The study sheds new light on a vital enzyme that could be linked to breast cancer susceptibility. The study sheds new light on a vital enzyme that enables cells in our bodies to 'unravel' DNA. This enzyme allows the chromosomes to split into two prior to a cell dividing and could be linked to breast cancer susceptibility. Using a model human cell system in which cells are grown in cultures in the laboratory, researchers have shown that when amounts of the enzyme 'topo-2' are reduced, the cells become resistant to low doses of gamma-rays and less damage to their chromosomes is observed.

Exposure to hexachlorobenzene during pregnancy increases the risk of overweight in children aged 6 years.

In the first prospective study exploring how fetal exposures may affect the risk of childhood obesity, scientists from Spain report that children born to mothers with higher levels of the pesticide hexachlorobenzene in cord blood were significantly more likely to be overweight and obese by the age of six. These results add to growing evidence that fetal exposure to contaminants can interfere with hormonal mechanisms that control weight later in life, thereby contributing to the world-wide epidemic of metabolic disorder.
Acta Pædiatrica, July 28, 2008

It would be pretty difficult to ignore the message that obesity puts you at greater risk of cancer, but the real question is: why is this so? One theory is that it's because obese people are exposed to greater quantities of toxic chemicals stored in their body fat. Last year, the Royal Society of Medicine held a major conference on cancer. This was attended by leading cancer doctors, and while they talked about the environmental factors of nutrition, smoking, infection and workplace exposure, none of the speakers addressed chemicals in the environment as a cause - despite the ever-increasing scientific evidence for the link.

What do you mix into your daily chemical cocktail? Do you use shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, face lotion, makeup and perfume in the morning? Do you sit in front of the TV or computer screen every day, being exposed to chemical fumes released by heat? Are your clothes dyed with questionable dyes? Do you eat foodstuffs with additives and pollutants, which you know nothing about? And what is in your drinking water? We are exposed to chemicals everywhere every day. Many chemicals have been tested, and as we gain new knowledge more and more substances are being regulated. The problem is that small amounts of the different substances with no noticeable individual effect may have serious effects together. That is called combination effects or, more popularly, cocktail effects. New research has shown that combination effects may be highly problematic in the field of endocrine disruptors. Even though the field contains an immense amount of unknown factors at the moment, it seems that we will find methods to handle combination effects. But there is still some way to go. Today we do not even have the test methods to assess the endocrine disrupting effects of the individual substances.

The UK government is today participating in a media initiative aimed at attacking proposed European legislation that would remove the most hazardous pesticides from food produce grown in the EU. Speaking with journalists assembled in London, Ian Dewhurst, Principal Toxicologist at the UK ‘Pesticides Safety Directorate’, is expected to reiterate the Government’s position that the removal of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic pesticides from food products would secure ‘no significant health benefit for consumers’. ‘The UK Government’s approach to pesticide legislation is extremely disappointing’, said Elliott Cannell, a spokesperson for Pesticide Action Network Europe. ‘Cancer is the second biggest cause of death in Europe. So it makes real sense to ensure that carcinogenic and mutagenic pesticides are no longer common contaminants in fruits and vegetables’.

The European chemicals agency has published a first draft list of substances that could eventually be subject to tough authorisation requirements prohibiting marketing and use unless firms can show there is a compelling reason to allow them. Each entry on the "candidate list" of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) has been suggested by an EU government. The list includes three phthalates and the brominated flame retardant HBCDD. The agency (Echa) has opened a public consultation on the list - the first to be held on the operation of Reach - in which stakeholders have been invited to submit information on use and exposure and on safer alternative substances and techniques.

Paraben esters: review of recent studies of endocrine toxicity, absorption, esterase and human exposure, and discussion of potential human health risks

This toxicology update reviews research over the past four years since publication in 2004 of the first measurement of intact esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens) in human breast cancer tissues, and the suggestion that their presence in the human body might originate from topical application of bodycare cosmetics. The presence of intact paraben esters in human body tissues has now been confirmed by independent measurements in human urine, and the ability of parabens to penetrate human skin intact without breakdown by esterases and to be absorbed systemically has been demonstrated through studies not only in vitro but also in vivo using healthy human subjects. Using a wide variety of assay systems in vitro and in vivo, the oestrogen agonist properties of parabens together with their common metabolite (p-hydroxybenzoic acid) have been extensively documented, and, in addition, the parabens have now also been shown to possess androgen antagonist activity, to act as inhibitors of sulfotransferase enzymes and to possess genotoxic activity. With the continued use of parabens in the majority of bodycare cosmetics, there is a need to carry out detailed evaluation of the potential for parabens, together with other oestrogenic and genotoxic co-formulants of bodycare cosmetics, to increase female breast cancer incidence, to interfere with male reproductive functions and to influence development of malignant melanoma which has also recently been shown to be influenced by oestrogenic stimulation.

On May 20, 2008, research published in Nature Nanotechnology showed carbon nanotubes cause an asbestos-like pathogenicity in the abdominal mesothelium of mice. The rapid commercialisation-predicted to reach US$2 billion by 2014-of this particular nanotechnology is being done under an assumption that the chemical does not pose any hazards to human health. However, this latest study, along with other data, suggests otherwise.

News About the Environment and Cancer

The Cancer Prevention & Education Society is very grateful to Environmental Health News for alerting us to much of the news below. For an exhaustive review of the news we recommend you visit their site. www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org

Viviane Maraghi expected the blood tests to show she would have some chemical pollution in her body, but nothing like this. After all, she viewed herself as "very environmentalist," carefully monitoring what she ate and the household products and items she purchased. Nevertheless, lead, arsenic, mercury, PCBs, PBDEs (a flame retardant banned in Europe and eight U.S. states but still in use in Canada), plus an array of other chemicals that have been linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological diseases were all well represented in her bloodstream.

Viviane Maraghi and son Aladin, 12, were tested for chemical contaminants as part of a 2005 Environmental Defence study. The results surprised them. Her blood tested positive for 36 of 68 potentially toxic chemicals, many of which never actually leave the body, but continue to accumulate over time in tissues such as fat or bone. They get there because they are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the products we use.

Elevated bladder cancer risk due to colorants--a state-wide case-control study in north Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Occupational exposure to aromatic amines is a known bladder cancer risk factor, whereas the impact of exposure to azo dyes, which may release aromatic amines in humans, is at present controversial. Therefore, the impact of occupational exposures to colorants was investigated in 156 bladder cancer cases and 336 controls in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for bladder cancer was elevated in 7 painters (OR 1.98, 95% CI 0.64-6.11), 4 hairdressers (OR 4.9, 95% CI 0.85-28.39), and 16 cases who reported a wood processing occupation (OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.58-2.41). Ten of these 16 cases reported chronic exposure to colorants (OR 1.84, 95% CI 0.68-4.95). The results of this epidemiological study confirm the hypothesis that individuals exposed to colorants show an elevated bladder cancer risk.

Recommendations of the AMA reference committee "D" passed the House of Delegates yesterday and is now policy of the AMA.

Resolution 404 - modern chemicals policies, Resolution 413 - modern chemicals policy, Resolution 418 - a modern chemicals policy, Resolution 427 - encouraging safer chemicals policies and regulatory reform of industrial chemicals to protect and improve human health. www.ama-assn.org

A Case-Control Study of Childhood Brain Tumors and Fathers' Hobbies: A Children's Oncology Group Study

A comprehensive case-control study was conducted to evaluate parental risk factors for medulloblastoma (MB) and primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET). This analysis was conducted to evaluate associations between fathers' hobbies and risk of their children developing MB/PNET. The hobbies chosen for study were those with similar exposures as occupations associated with childhood cancers. RESULTS: In multivariate analyses, a significant association was seen for lawn care with pesticides [during pregnancy: odds ratio (OR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0, 2.5; after birth: OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.8] and a weak association was seen for stripping paint [during pregnancy: OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 0.8, 2.6; after birth: OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 0.7, 2.6]. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that household exposures from hobbies, particularly pesticides, may increase risk of MB/PNET in children; previous research has been mostly limited to occupational exposures.

Teenagers may be more susceptible than adults to certain types of cancer, including cervical, testicular and skin cancer, British scientists said this week. Certain cancer rates rose faster among adolescents in England than in adults from 1979 to 2003, according to research presented at an international conference on teenage cancer in London. But researchers have yet to determine why the rates differ - whether the cause is genetic or hormonal, or if it stems from environment, lifestyle or a mix of all three. "The question is whether there are special reasons these young people are developing cancers that are usually only typical of adults," said Jillian Birch, director of Cancer Research United Kingdom's Pediatric and Familial Cancer Research Group.

On a scorching June afternoon in Jhajjal village in south-western Punjab, elderly men have gathered in a communal courtyard to quell the boredom of the long afternoon with a game of cards. The cotton crop has been sown, and the farmers have a few weeks' holiday before they must return to their fields. As with most small villages, everyone knows everyone else here, and the conversation centers around marriages and births. But these usually mundane topics have taken on a tragic twist, involving couples failing to conceive, children being born with genetic disorders, people of all ages succumbing to cancer. Nadar Singh, the village headman, says there have been some 20 cancer-related deaths during the last five years in Jhajjal, a village of only 3,200. "A 23-year-old died of cancer in our village last year," he says, "But such news has stopped shocking us. Here even kids have cancer."

Chemicals produced by humans have been found in deep-sea squid and other creatures, further evidence that contaminants make their way deep into the marine food web, scientists said Monday. Researchers found a variety of chemical contaminants in nine species of cephalopods, which include octopods, squids, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. These species are food for dolphins, narwhals, killer whales and other toothed whales. The researchers collected nine species of cephalopods up to a mile down and deeper in the Western North Atlantic Ocean by trawling.

These three short videos on environmental estrogens found in everyday products, including cosmetics and personal care products, plastics, detergents, and estrogenic heavy metals found in electronics are really worth watching. They have been produced by BCERF, the Cornell University Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors. The videos were designed to reach younger women (teens and college aged), an audience that often is not aware of breast cancer risk factors. View videos at: http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/research/endocrine/videos/

Patient care and safety begin with the environment in which care is administered. The chemicals and waste products hospitals release into the environment are as important to community health as the quality of care in acute settings. In keeping with its commitment to the overall health and well-being of the communities it serves, San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) recently converted all 42 of its hospital campuses to DEHP- and PVC-free infusion products, ensuring a greater degree of patient and environmental safety in the delivery of hospital care.

There is increasing evidence both from epidemiology studies and animal models that specific endocrine-disrupting compounds may influence the development or progression of prostate cancer. In large part, these effects appear to be linked primarily to interference with estrogen signaling, either through interacting with estrogen receptors (ERs) or by influencing steroid metabolism and altering estrogen levels within the body. In humans, epidemiologic evidence links specific pesticides, PCBs and inorganic arsenic exposures to elevated prostate cancer risk. Studies in animal models also show augmentation of prostate carcinogenesis with several other environmental estrogenic compounds including cadmium, UV filters and Bisphenol A. Importantly, there appears to be heightened sensitivity of the prostate to these endocrine disruptors during the critical developmental windows including in utero and neonatal time points as well as during puberty. Thus infants and children may be considered a highly susceptible population for ED exposures and increased risk of prostate cancers with aging.

Association of urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations with body mass index and waist circumference: a cross-sectional study of NHANES data, 1999-2002

Abridged Abstract: Although diet and activity are key factors in the obesity epidemic, laboratory studies suggest that endocrine disrupting chemicals may also affect obesity. This exploratory, cross-sectional analysis revealed a number of interesting associations with different phthalate metabolites and obesity outcomes, including notable differences by gender and age subgroups. Effects of endocrine disruptors, such as phthalates, may depend upon endogenous hormone levels, which vary dramatically by age and gender. Individual phthalates also have different biologic and hormonal effects. Although our study has limitations, both of these factors could explain some of the variation in the observed associations. These preliminary data support the need for prospective studies in populations at risk for obesity.

Tracking plastic's breakdown products. Researchers examine the metabolites of a popular plasticizer in sewage sludge.

A rapidly growing body of research has raised concerns about the safety of phthalate plasticizers found in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products, cosmetics, and medical devices. Now, scientists are gaining new insights by looking not just at the parent compounds but at their metabolites as well. Scientists worry that infant boys exposed to phthalate plasticizers in medical tubing and bags could experience abnormal development of the reproductive tract. The most widely used plasticizer is DEHP, or di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, and millions of tons are produced annually, says Jim Nicell, an environmental engineer at McGill University (Canada). When added to PVC, DEHP lubricates the brittle polymer, providing it with the well-known flexibility that makes it ideal for use in building materials, household furnishings, and medical devices such as intravenous tubes and bags.

Everyday products sold in Canada -- from lipstick to laundry detergent -- would be forced to carry warning labels listing toxic ingredients as hazardous under a private member's bill backed by consumer groups. Bolstered by the environmental law group Toxic Free Canada and the Quebec consumer group Options Consommateur, Peter Julian of the New Democrats tabled legislation Thursday requiring that all products sold in Canada have clear warning labels specifying their toxic substances. Hazard labelling legislation has already been adopted in the European Union and the State of California. "Consumers in Europe and consumers in California have the right to know. We're saying that Canadians need that right to know," said Julian, who represents the B.C. riding of Burnaby-New Westminster.

Brussels, 29 May 2008 - Victims of human rights and environmental abuses by European companies around the world could find justice in European courts under proposals unveiled today at an international conference at the European Parliament. The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) - a leading network of over 250 civil society organisations around Europe - has revealed policy proposals developed by a team of legal experts which if adopted by the European Union would guarantee the legal responsibility of companies based in Europe, and their directors, for human rights or environmental violations committed by their subsidiaries or subcontractors anywhere in the world. ECCJ has found that the legal structure of companies and weak accountability mechanisms all too often result in ethical mismanagement by companies. From mercury poisoning in South Africa to child labour in India, companies’ breaches of environmental and human rights standards have revealed systemic failings in the operation of many companies that has resulted in environmental and social harm for many years.

On Cancer’s Trail! The women in Stefanie Raymond-Whish’s family have a history of breast cancer. Now the young Navajo biologist is asking why.

Stefanie Raymond-Whish was 9 years old when her grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. A traditional Navajo who raised 15 children after her husband died in a car wreck, Raymond-Whish’s ama’ sa’ ni seldom spoke about her illness. Even after her surgery, when she lived with the grandchildren and their mother, she always acted strong around the kids. It became a pattern: When Raymond-Whish was 13, her 38-year-old mother, Nellie Sandoval, was also diagnosed with breast cancer. And Sandoval was equally reserved on the subject. "My mother was really good about not appearing sick in front of us," says Raymond-Whish, now 32. "As a little girl, I knew about cancer, but didn’t understand the impact of it at the time." In over six decades of atomic health testing, no one had ever noticed that uranium, at low doses, can act like an estrogen. Now scientists are asking about its role in breast cancer, especially in the Navajo nation.

Germany has banned a family of pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has suspended the registration for eight pesticide seed treatment products used in rapeseed oil and sweetcorn. The move follows reports from German beekeepers in the Baden-Württemberg region that two thirds of their bees died earlier this month following the application of a pesticide called clothianidin. “It’s a real bee emergency,” said Manfred Hederer, president of the German Professional Beekeepers’ Association. “50-60% of the bees have died on average and some beekeepers have lost all their hives.”

Nail Salon Workers - Repeated And Prolonged Exposure To Variety Of Chemicals Could Put Workers At Risk

They pamper us and make us feel special. They work long hours for low wages and English is usually their second language, if then. They are mainly Vietnamese women who make their living giving manicures and pedicures. They also suffer from acute health effects associated with the chemicals they use in that work, according to a new survey from the Northern California Cancer Center and Asian Health Services of Oakland. This is one of the first such surveys to focus on this understudied workforce. "Nail care workers routinely handle products containing many potentially harmful compounds, some of which are carcinogens or have endocrine disrupting effects, yet are virtually unregulated," explained Thu Quach, MPH, of the Northern California Cancer Center. "Our survey is part of a pilot project designed to characterize Vietnamese nail salon workers in Alameda County, California in order to inform future health interventions and reduce occupational exposures. Nail salon workers are likely to have higher exposures to these compounds than the customers they serve."

‘Killer Cribs’ Study Finds Toxics in California Baby Products and Furniture: Leno Bill Banning Halogenated Fire Retardants Hailed As Solution

Our new report called Killer Cribs, released today, documents the tragic spread of two classes of fire retardants – known as halogenated fire retardants – into products used by the youngest members of our society – babies and children. The report shows that 31 percent of baby products such as portable cribs, car seats, nursing pillows, strollers, baby back packs, and infant chairs contain dangerous levels of toxic fire retardants, exposing babies and small children to chemicals that can make them sick. In hundreds of studies, these fire retardants have been linked to serious health disorders like cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, brain and reproductive disorders, and learning disabilities such as ADHD. Today, almost every baby and child has these toxic fire retardants in their bodies. Babies have the highest levels because they sleep up to 16 hours a day in cribs or playpens contaminated with fire retardants, and they are especially vulnerable because at these young ages, their brains and reproductive organs are developing so quickly.

Town's rate 10 times state average, says researcher, call for inquiry into claims of secret testing in 1960s. Claims by a leading researcher that cancer deaths in a small town in Queensland, Australia, are 10 times higher than the state average owing to the secret testing of Agent Orange there more than 40 years ago are to be investigated by the authorities. Australian military scientists sprayed the toxic herbicide on rainforest near Innisfail during defoliant testing in the early years of the Vietnam war, it is alleged. The jungle began dying and has never recovered, according to local people. The site is near a river which supplies water for the town in the far north of the country and researchers believe the spraying may be responsible for cancer rates in the area being 10 times the state average and four times the national average.

Fate of Personal Care Products Linked to Environmental Pollution and Human Health Concerns

Parental concerns in maintaining germ-free homes for their children have led to an ever-increasing demand and the rapid adoption of anti-bacterial soaps and cleaning agents. But the active ingredients of those antiseptic soaps now have come under scrutiny by the EPA and FDA, due to both environmental and human health concerns. Two closely related antimicrobials, triclosan and triclocarban, are at the center of the debacle. Whereas triclosan (TCS) has long captured the attention of toxicologists due to its structural resemblance to dioxin (the Times Beach and Love Canal poison), triclocarban (TCC) has ski-rocketed in 2004 from an unknown and presumably harmless consumer product additive to one of today's top ten pharmaceuticals and personal care products most frequently found in the environment and in U.S. drinking water resources.

Ralph Short scoffs at the idea that the Indian River power plant is linked to high rates of lung cancer. For the past five decades, he has lived within two miles and "can see the power plant from my front door." Neither he nor his family members have had cancer. "I was born and raised in Sussex County," said Short, 75. "I'd say the chicken man's got as much to do with it as the power plant." The power plant is ground zero in the state's cancer cluster study, which began in mid-March and will wrap up in August. The research is a follow-up to a study released last summer identifying a cluster of cancer cases in six codes around the coal-fired power plant. That study showed the age-adjusted rate of cancer cases in the area is 17 percent higher than the national average, including an increased incidence in lung cancer among older residents.

Study of 13,000 children exposes link between use of handsets and later behavioural problems. Women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioural problems, according to authoritative research. A giant study, which surveyed more than 13,000 children, found that using the handsets just two or three times a day was enough to raise the risk of their babies developing hyperactivity and difficulties with conduct, emotions and relationships by the time they reached school age. And it adds that the likelihood is even greater if the children themselves used the phones before the age of seven. The results of the study, the first of its kind, have taken the top scientists who conducted it by surprise. But they follow warnings against both pregnant women and children using mobiles by the official Russian radiation watchdog body, which believes that the peril they pose "is not much lower than the risk to children's health from tobacco or alcohol".

Amid growing concern that harmful chemicals may be present in many common, everyday products, a Senate Commerce subcommittee will meet Wednesday to discuss the state of two chemicals in particular that have been linked to health problems. The Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety Subcommittee will look at bisphenol A and phthalates, two chemicals that are used in a wide variety of consumer products. The panel will address their health implications, as well as alternatives and how the federal government has assessed their toxicity. Governments and retailers around the world are paying attention after several reports linked the chemicals -- both found in various products for children and adults -- to developmental and health problems.

Studies have shown that exposing developing laboratory animals to low levels of bisphenol A -- found in the packaging of consumer goods, such as water and food containers, shatter-resistant baby bottles and dental fillings -- can trigger early puberty, cause changes in behavior and affect the brain, prostate gland and mammary gland.

When you wash your hair or put on makeup, are you getting a dangerous dose of toxic chemicals in the process? Safety advocates are sounding the alarm about the potential health risks in thousands of cosmetic ingredients.

Biologist Renee sharp says reading labels is worthless if you don't know what they mean. Sharp is senior analyst for the Environmental Working Group, a cosmetic safety advocate in Washington, D.C.

Sharp says studies show as many half the personal care products on the market have at least one chemical linked to either reproductive problems or cancer. "We're basically conducting a giant chemical experiment on ourselves." she said. Sharp points to parabens as one example. Parabens are widely used as preservatives. Names you'll likely see on ingredient labels are ethylparaben, propylparaben and methylparaben.

A new study suggests that firefighters face higher-than-average risks of several types of cancer, adding to evidence that the job carries hazards beyond the fires themselves. A number of studies have found that firefighters have elevated cancer rates, though they have not always been consistent in the specific types of cancer. In the current study, researchers found that professional firefighters had higher-than-expected rates of colon cancer and brain cancer. There was also evidence, albeit weaker, that they had elevated risks of bladder and kidney cancers, as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dr. Letitia Davis with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues report the findings in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Firefighters are exposed to many potentially cancer-causing chemicals released from burning materials. At the scene of the fire, toxic substances such as benzene, lead, uranium and asbestos can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

Women whose jobs regularly expose them to weed killers may have a higher-than-normal risk of a particular form of brain cancer, results of a U.S. study suggest. Researchers found that among more than 1,400 U.S. adults with and without brain cancer, there was no overall link between the disease and on-the-job exposure to pesticides or herbicides -- chemicals used to kill plants, usually weeds. However, a closer look at the data showed that women who had ever been exposed to herbicides at work had a two-fold higher risk of meningioma than women with no such exposure. Meningiomas are slow-growing tumors that arise in the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord. They are one of the most common forms of brain tumor, and occur most frequently in middle-aged women.

A chemical that comes from the pesticide DDT may raise a man's risk of developing testicular cancer, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. They found a clear link between testicular cancer and DDE, which is created when the body or the environment breaks down the pesticide DDT. Men with the highest levels of DDE were 70 percent more likely to have developed testicular cancer than those with the lowest levels, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Hair dye could have hidden risks. Women who dye their hair may be increasing their risk of cancer, scientists warn. Those who use hair dyes more than nine times a year have a 60 per cent greater risk of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a study suggests. Women who regularly used hair dyes before 1980 could be in even greater danger, with a 70 per cent increased risk of developing the blood disease. This is because dyes sold before then contained toxic ingredients linked to cancer which are not present in modern hair products. The research also suggests the risk of developing another type of cancer is increased by dark colours. Women who use dark hair dyes are 50 per cent more likely to develop follicular lymphoma, a non-aggressive blood cancer. If non-permanent dark dyes are used the risk increases to 70 per cent, according to the study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The Canadian government is said to be ready to declare as toxic a chemical widely used in plastics for baby bottles, beverage and food containers as well as linings in food cans. A person with knowledge of the government’s chemical review program spoke on the condition he not be named because of a confidentiality agreement. He said the staff work to list the compound, called bisphenol-a, or B.P.A., as a toxic chemical was complete and was recently endorsed by a panel of outside scientists. A public announcement by Health Canada may come as early as Wednesday but could be delayed until the end of May. Canada would be the first country to make a health finding against B.P.A., which has been shown to disrupt the hormonal systems of animals. The department’s decision was first reported in The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper, on Tuesday.

Breast cancer has increased dramatically in Europe over the past 20 years, with a doubling of the number of cases in some countries over this time period. A recent report presented to the European Parliament suggests that by reducing our exposure to certain chemicals, the number of women who develop breast cancer could also be reduced. The report by UK researchers summarises the evidence for the link between breast cancer and environmental influences. Exposure to hormone-disruptive chemicals, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs, is thought to be a key factor, but there are other relevant chemicals found in the environment, such as pesticides and phthalates (widely used in consumer products, such as plastics). Individually, these may not cause breast cancer, but there is scientific concern about the 'cocktail effect', where exposure to a combination of these chemicals may interact with hormones to trigger cancer. Studies to date have tended to focus on single chemicals, ignoring the possibility of chemical interactions.

Health Canada is calling bisphenol A a dangerous substance, making it the first regulatory body in the world to reach such a determination and taking the initial step toward measures to control exposures to it. Although the government won't announce specific bans or restrictions, the designation as dangerous could pave the way for the hormonally active chemical to be listed as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which would allow Health Minister Tony Clement to issue specific measures to curb its use.

Breast cancer is not simply a lifestyle and genetic disease but can be the result of environmental factors, noticeably exposure to chemicals, says a report published last week. Commissioned by the Health and Environment Alliance, a European network of non-governmental organisations, and the Chem Trust, the report coordinates the findings of several international research projects between 2002 and 2007 on chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system. Commenting on the results, the author, Andreas Kortenkamp, the head of the centre for toxicology at London University’s school of pharmacy, said, "Good laboratory and epidemiological evidence exists suggesting that manmade chemicals that mimic oestrogen contribute to breast cancer. "We will not be able to reduce the risk of breast cancer without addressing preventable causes, particularly exposure to chemicals."

Trans-fats, which are being phased out of food because they clog arteries, may raise the risk of getting breast cancer, European researchers reported yesterday. They found that women with the highest blood levels of trans-fats had about twice the risk of breast cancer compared with women with the lowest levels. "At this stage, we can only recommend limiting the consumption of processed foods, the source of industrially produced trans-fatty acid," the researchers wrote in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Trans-fats or trans-fatty acids are made in creating artificially hardened fats - in the process of hydrogenization, for instance. They were, ironically, meant to be healthful replacements for artery-clogging saturated fats such as butter and lard. But the process of making vegetable oil behave like butter made it as unhealthy as butter. New York and California have banned trans-fats in restaurant foods. Canada and Britain have considered it and countless food companies have dropped them as an ingredient.

Success For Green MEP As Euro-Parliament Identifies Environmental Causes Of Cancer In New ‘Task Force’ Proposals

The European Parliament has passed an important resolution on combating cancer, with an overwhelming majority of Euro-MPs agreeing to amendments proposed by a Green MEP to highlight the environmental causes behind the disease. Drawing on scientific evidence showing that cancers can be caused by environmental factors including toxic chemicals found in household goods, pesticides and poor air quality, South East MEP Caroline Lucas proposed significant changes to a Parliament resolution seeking to establish an EU Cancer Task Force to fight the disease more effectively. Caroline said: “This landmark decision by the European Parliament means that MEPs now officially recognise that the environmental causes like pollution and chemical contamination must be considered in any strategy to combat cancer.

The breast cancer epidemic cannot be reversed without considering women's exposure to chemical cocktails throughout their lives, argued Professor Andreas Kortenkamp of the University of London, presenting new scientific evidence to the European Parliament. "There is a breast cancer epidemic in Europe, especially in Eastern Europe, and also in Western Europe the figures continue to rise," Kortenkamp told EurActiv as he presented a study in the Parliament on 2 April. Kortenkamp, the head of the Centre for Toxicology at the University of London, said medical doctors agree that better mammographic screening alone cannot explain the rise. Instead, he says, there is now "compelling evidence that natural and pharmaceutically applied hormones play a role in breast cancer, for instance, hormone replacement therapy (HRT)". HRT, he said, "raises concerns about environmental chemicals and chemicals in consumer products that are hormonally active and behave biologically, in just the same way as the natural estrogens".

In a major change of direction the French National Library has decided not to install WI-FI, based on rising scientific and public health concern (and the concern of staff and patrons) about exposures to wireless RF. It follows the lead of other Paris-based libraries that disconnected their existing WI-FI services over health concerns of workers.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) not only increases the risk of first-time breast cancer, it also makes recurrence of the malignancy more likely, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings stem from an analysis of follow-up data for 442 women who were previously treated for breast cancer and were enrolled in the Hormonal Replacement After Breast Cancer--Is it Safe (HABITS) study, a trial that was stopped early after HRT use was linked to an increased risk of cancer. During a follow-up period of around 4 years, 39 of 221 HRT-treated women had a breast cancer recurrence compared with 17 of 221 women who did not take HRT. This suggests that HRT more than doubled the risk of repeat breast cancer.

To reduce the incidence of breast cancers, it is essential to decrease exposure to chemicals, according to a report published on April 2, commissioned by Alliance for the health and environment (HEAL) and of CHEM Trust. The report was authored by Professor Andreas Kortenkamp, Head of Centre for Toxicology at the University of London. The report also shows that breast cancer incidence has increased in Western countries and in Europe, close to 1 in 10 women will develop breast cancer. Environmental factors are the principal cause of breast cancer cases with heredity factors calculated at 27%.

Environmental effects are underestimated according to Dr. Annie Sasco, Epidemiologist at INSERM

"In cancer prevention, we cannot control all the elements at our individual level," Professor Sasco, in an article in Le Monde. Professor Sasco answered questions and gave her views on, a finding the decreased use of HRT may be linked to a fall in breast cancer cases, and, chemoprevention in women with a genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. Professor Sasco was also asked, “How can we improve cancer prevention?” The article (French) can be found at www.lemonde.fr/..

Speaking at the International Cancer Conference at Stirling University Scotland, BWI Health and Safety Director Fiona Murie, told international delegates that workers in the construction and timber trades are the worst affected by cancer causing substances at work. There is a large number of cancer causing substances in our sectors. Unsafe work methods, informal, temporary employment and exploitative labour practices means that millions of workers are routinely exposed in both industrialised and developing countries.

In February, 2008, 17 scientists from seven countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France, to reassess the carcinogenicity of some aromatic amines and organic dyes. Additionally, occupational exposures of hairdressers and barbers and exposure from personal use of hair colourants were reviewed. These assessments will be published as volume 99 of the IARC Monographs. Some aromatic amines have long been known to cause bladder cancer in human beings, and several others are suspected of being carcinogenic. Aromatic amines also cause bladder cancer whenever they are tested in dogs. The Working Group identified several additional aromatic amines that are carcinogenic to human beings.

Reanalysis of updated mortality among vinyl and polyvinyl chloride workers: Confirmation of historical evidence and new findings.

The production of vinyl chloride (VC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) involves the use of various chemicals, some known to be toxic and potentially or definitely carcinogenic. The related potential risk often has not been properly investigated. A study, which reanalysed mortality data among different subgroups of workers employed in a VC-PVC production plant located in Porto Marghera concluded, this cohort analysis, based on internal comparison, confirmed previously reported specific risk excesses for liver tumors and liver cirrhosis among autoclave workers and for lung cancer among PVC baggers, and revealed PVC compound workers as a possible new at risk group for all causes, all tumors and for liver and lung tumors. In conclusion, relative risks for all causes of death and all tumors were increased among all blue collar workers.

News About the Environment and Cancer

Quarter 1 News 2008
(January - March 2008)

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'
Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation. Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that Governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation. The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.
The Independent, March 30, 2008

Hair dyes found to increase cancer risk
Hairdressers and barbers are at increased risk of developing cancer – because of their use of hair dyes. And the risks could extend to personal use of the dyes, according to international experts. A review of the evidence by a panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, has found a “small but consistent risk of bladder cancer in Male hairdressers and barbers". A second review of the evidence on personal use of hair dyes found some studies suggesting a possible association with bladder cancer and with lymphoma and leukaemia. The full report will be published as Volume 99 of the IARC Monographs.
The Independent, March 26, 2008

Environmental Toxins, Radiation may Be Tied to Breast Cancer
Exposure to plasticizers and other chemicals in childhood may hike adult cancer risks, report says. In the decades following World War II, both breast cancer rates and the use of synthetic chemicals soared in the United States and a new report contends there's a strong connection between the two. The report produced by the Breast Cancer Fund, a non-profit group whose mission is to identify environmental links to breast cancer, The State of the Evidence: 2008 concludes toxic chemicals in the environment, along with increased radiation exposure, are the main culprits in the sharp rise of breast cancer incidence.
HealthDay News, March 19, 2008

Man-Made Chemicals May Put Strain on Fish
The Potomac River contains an array of man-made chemicals that could play havoc with animals' hormone systems, federal scientists have found in their best glimpse yet of the river's problems with a mysterious new class of pollutant. The research, unveiled at a conference last week, found more than 10 of the compounds, including pesticides, herbicides and artificial fragrances. Through an accident of chemistry, formulas designed to kill bugs or add smell to soap might also interfere with vital signals in fish, amphibians and other creatures. The scientists said they hoped this new research might explain one of the Potomac's most bizarre discoveries: Some male fish have begun growing eggs. Scientists said there was no evidence of a threat to human health.
Washington Post, March 18, 2008

Overweight women have worse breast cancer: study
Breast cancer patients who are overweight have more aggressive disease and are likely to die sooner, U.S. researchers reported on Friday. A dangerous type of breast cancer, known as inflammatory breast cancer, was seen in 45% of obese patients, compared with 30% of overweight patients and 15% of patients of healthy weight. “The more obese a patient is, the more aggressive the disease,” said Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who led the study. “We are learning that the fat tissue may increase inflammation that leads to more aggressive disease.”
Reuters, March 17, 2008

Consequences of exposure to carcinogens beginning during development
The increased incidence of cancer over the last 50-60 years may be largely attributed to two factors: the ageing of the population and the diffusion of agents and situations presenting carcinogenic risks. Today, we have entered into a new era in which populations are ever-increasingly exposed to diffuse carcinogenic risks, present not only in the occupational, but also in the general environment. We must now also consider an additional factor in the carcinogenic process, that is, the age in which exposure to carcinogenic risks begins.
ISDE Italia News, March 13, 2008

Spanish study feeds into pesticide controversy
As the EU's pesticides package moves into the final stages of adoption, new research shows that all Spaniards are affected by at least one type of pesticide, fungicide or insecticide classified internationally as potentially harmful to human health. The Spanish study, carried out by the University of Granada, examined the contamination levels of certain persistent organic pollutants in a sample of the adult population (387 individuals) and tried to find determining factors associated with such levels. People from both urban and semi-rural areas were part of the sample. According to the results, published in late 2007, 100% of Spaniards carry at least one type of harmful chemical in their bodies.
ISDE Italia News, March 13, 2008

Low-dose effects: a manufactured controversy?
Endocrinologists know that hormones normally stimulate their receptors at low concentrations, while high concentrations can inhibit these pathways by saturating receptors. But the notion that a substance can produce effects at low levels that disappear at higher levels fundamentally challenges traditional toxicological approaches. Full article available at http://tinyurl.com/2zfkum.
ISDE Italia News, March 13, 2008

Study finds DNA damage in farmers exposed to pesticides
Punjab Farmers are suffering damage to their DNA following excessive exposure to pesticides. This revelation came through in a study conducted by Raminderjeet Kaur, a research fellow under the supervision of Satbir Kaur of the Department of Human Biology, Punjabi University, Patiala. Her study reveals a tremendous DNA damage among the farming community of Punjab, who are occupationally exposed to a variety of pesticides.
Bombay Express, March 12, 2008

Groups demand action against pollutants
For years, public-health organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society and Heart and Stroke Foundation have been saying that the key to dodging deadly diseases is healthy living. But the groups, while still urging sensible steps such as tobacco avoidance, exercise and weight control, say there are some health threats individuals can't easily avoid on their own - such as air pollution and toxic compounds in consumer products - and they are calling on the federal government to take action. The two groups, along with the Canadian Lung Association, want Ottawa to pass legislation forcing companies to identify all the dangerous ingredients in their products, according to a joint statement to be released today. They also want Ottawa to create a countrywide index to measure air pollution.
Globe and Mail, March 6, 2008

'Cancer link' to heavy mobile use
The majority of studies have not found an increased cancer risk. Heavy mobile phone use may be linked to an increased risk of cancer of the salivary gland, a study suggests. Researchers looked at 500 Israelis who had developed the condition and compared their mobile phone usage with 1,300 healthy controls. Those who had used the phone against one side of the head for several hours a day were 50% more likely to have developed a salivary gland tumour.
BBC News Online, February 18, 2008

Obesity Growing to Be Top Cancer Cause
Obesity is on its way to being deadlier than smoking as a cause of cancer, a leading researcher said Friday. Being obese is currently associated with about 14 percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent in women, compared with about 30 percent each for smoking, Dr. Walter C. Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Associated Press, February 15, 2008

Baby toiletries linked to chemical risk
Parents who use baby powder, lotion or shampoo on their infants may unknowingly expose their children to controversial chemicals with hormone-like effects, a study shows. Researchers found the chemicals called phthalates in the urine of all 163 babies tested, according to the study in today's Pediatrics. Most of the babies, whose average age was 13 months, had seven or more types of phthalates in their urine. Concentrations of phthalates were higher in infants who were exposed to lotion, powder and shampoo than in other infants, the study shows.
USA Today, February 4, 2008

Thousands dying of work-related cancers
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are in jobs that put them at increased risk of cancer but neither they nor their doctors know it. Investigators from Massey University's Centre for Public Health Research are calling on family GPs and cancer specialists to be better informed about their patients' occupations current and past in the hope of improving diagnosis and treatment. They say work-related cancers affect between 700 and 1000 people a year and kill 400, yet fewer than 40 cases a year are notified to the Labour Department. Their call follows new research highlighting the potential risk of bladder cancer or non-Hodgkins lymphoma, published by the group in international journals. The research highlights the potential dangers of a wide range of jobs. Dyes, petrol fumes, solvents and pesticides are the main culprits and work is under way to establish which agents are most dangerous.
Sunday Star Times, February 3, 2008

'Don't put hot water in plastic bottles'
Parents who make warm drinks for their young children in plastic baby bottles are putting them at risk from harmful chemicals, scientists have warned. Mums mistake baby illness for food allergy. A study has shown the level of a "gender-bending" pollutant that leaks from plastic bottles increases dramatically when they are filled with heated liquids. Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical within the plastic, has been linked to fertility problems, diabetes, breast cancer, hyperactivity and early puberty in girls. The study, conducted by Dr Scott Belcher of Cincinnati University, found exposure to boiling water increased the release of the chemical by 55 times. Reporting in the journal Toxicology Letters, Dr Belcher said, "It's not just baby bottles - people put tea or hot water in bottles all the time."
The Telegraph, January 31, 2008

Government promises to rid the nation's food supply of brain-damaging pesticides aren't doing the job.
This is according to the results of a yearlong study that carefully monitored the diets of a group of local children. The peer-reviewed study found that the urine and saliva of children eating a variety of conventional foods from area groceries contained biological markers of organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II. When the same children ate organic fruits, vegetables and juices, signs of pesticides were not found. "The transformation is extremely rapid," said Chensheng Lu, the principal author of the study published online in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. "Once you switch from conventional food to organic, the pesticides (malathion and chlorpyrifos) that we can measure in the urine disappears. The level returns immediately when you go back to the conventional diets."
Seattle Post, January 30, 2008

The Chemicals Within:Many common household products contain compounds that could be affecting our health.
As an Alaskan fisherman, Timothy June, 54, used to think that he was safe from industrial pollutants at his home in Haines—a town with a population of 2,400 people and 4,000 eagles, with 20 million acres of protected wilderness nearby. But in early 2007, June agreed to take part in a survey of 35 Americans from seven states. It was a biomonitoring project, in which people's blood and urine were tested for traces of chemicals—in this case, three potentially hazardous classes of compounds found in common household products like shampoo, tin cans, shower curtains and upholstery. The results—released in November in a report called "Is It in Us?" by a coalition of environmental groups—were not reassuring. Every one of the participants, ranging from an Illinois state legislator to a Massachusetts minister, tested positive for all three classes of contaminants. And while the simple presence of these chemicals doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk, the fact that typical Americans carry these chemicals at all shocked June and his fellow participants. As Stephanie Felten, 28, of Aurora, Ill., put it, "Why should chemical companies be allowed to roll the dice on my health?"
Newsweek, January 26, 2008

Mobile phone radiation wrecks your sleep
Phone makers' own scientists discover that bedtime use can lead to headaches, confusion and depression. Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study. The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body's ability to repair damage suffered during the day.
The Independent, January 20, 2008

Baby products under scrutiny: Congress to investigate use of bisphenol A in formula cans
A congressional committee is launching an investigation into the use and safety of a chemical found in many children's and infant products, including the lining of liquid infant formula cans. Michigan Democrats Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Bart Stupak, who chairs a subcommittee, on Thursday sent letters to seven major manufacturers of infant formula, including Nestle USA and Abbott, demanding answers about the companies' use and knowledge of the chemical bisphenol A. "There is concern in the scientific community that this chemical, bisphenol A, may be harmful both to adults and children," Dingell said in a statement. "It would seem obvious that we would try to protect babies and infants from chemicals that may be considered dangerous to adults."
J S Online, January 17, 2008

Air pollution causes sperm mutations
Male mice breathing city air carry more mutations. Don't breath the air: it might meddle with your reproduction. Air pollution can cause DNA mutations in the sperm of mice reared in an industrial city, researchers have found. The results add to ongoing concerns about the effects of air pollution on human health and fertility.
Nature, January 13, 2008

Cancer drugs found in tap water
Britain's tap water should be monitored for powerful medicines after traces of cancer and psychiatric drugs were detected in samples, a report has warned. The 100-page statement, commissioned by the drinking water watchdog, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), reveals that pharmaceuticals are finding their way into the water supply despite extensive purification treatments used by water companies. Trace levels of bleomycin, a cancer chemotherapy drug, and diazepam, a sedative, have been found during tests on drinking water, the report reveals.
The Telegraph, January 13, 2008

Zip Code, 46803: Lung cancer zone
Health officials suspect smoking; residents offer different theories. Intense, solemn Ray Romines spoke with an audible heaviness in his voice, managing a stoic smile... Despite the strong link between smoking and lung cancer - almost nine of 10 lung cancer deaths are smoking-related - Romines' thoughts about what may have caused his cancer drift away from cigarettes. He thinks often about the potential consequences of chemicals deposited at a hazardous waste dump on Adams Center Road about a mile away. A ZIP-code-by-ZIP-code breakdown revealed that the poorest, least-educated ZIP codes in Fort Wayne had the highest lung cancer rates. Given that higher poverty levels and less education usually coincide with higher smoking rates, health officials believe smoking is the most likely culprit. But others contend less prominent causes might be to blame. Chemical Waste Management stopped accepting waste in 1998, but Romines wonders whether there could be lingering health effects for those in the surrounding area.
The Journal Gazette, January 13, 2008

Bisphenol A - most harmful to infants, study says
A new U.S. study on the plastic compound bisphenol A indicates that the chemical may be far more dangerous for young children than for adults. The finding has been submitted to Health Canada for its current safety review of BPA, and bolsters the case for limiting bisphenol A exposure in infants, who lack the capacity that adults have to detoxify it. Bisphenol A is used in polycarbonate baby bottles and the epoxy linings of cans, including those for almost all types of infant formula. Because BPA can mimic estrogen, many researchers suspect it is a factor in health trends linked to sex hormone imbalances, such as prostate and breast cancer. In the new study, researchers found that neonatal mice exposed to trace amounts of bisphenol A, either orally or through injection, ended up with similar amounts of the chemical in their blood because they do not have high amounts of the liver enzyme that breaks it down into an inactive form.
Globe and Mail, January 11, 2008

Nuclear power 'increases child leukaemia risk'
Children living within three miles of nuclear power stations are more than twice as likely to get leukaemia as those who live further away, scientists say. A large study commissioned by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BFS) found clusters of cases of the blood or bone marrow cancer among children aged under five-years-old living near 16 power stations in the country. The study was reported on the Channel 4 website as the Government gave the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain.
Daily Telegraph, January 10, 2008

Hormone replacement therapy quadruples risk of breast cancers
Postmenopausal women taking combined oestrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy for three years or longer run four times the risk of developing lobular breast cancer, finds US research. This is shorter than the time associated with an increased risk of other types of breast cancer (Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2008;17:43-50). The study included 1044 women between the ages of 55 and 74 who had been diagnosed as having invasive breast cancer between 2000 and 2004 and entered into the cancer surveillance system in Washington State. They were compared with 469 age matched controls without cancer. A third of the women with breast cancer had lobular cancers, which occur in the chambers of the breast that contain milk producing glands and account for about 15% of all invasive breast cancers.
BMJ 2008;336:116 (19 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.39461.443877.4E

Black women have a higher risk of breast cancer than white women
Black women in Britain develop breast cancer up to 21 years earlier than white women. They are seen at a median age of 46—four years before routine NHS screening for the disease starts—compared with 67 for white women, according to the first published data on breast cancer presentation in black women (British Journal of Cancer; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6604174). Among women with smaller tumours (less than 2 cm), black women were nearly three times as likely to die of their disease (hazard ratio 2.90, 95% CI 0.98 to 8.60, P=0.05). "Our findings could have major implications for the biology of breast cancer and the detection and treatment of the disease in black women," say the authors. "It is crucial to target this group of women to raise their awareness regarding the risks of breast cancer, the likelihood of early age at presentation, and the importance of self-examination."
BMJ 2008;336:116 (19 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.39461.648750.DB

What's preventing prevention?
Tens of thousands of cases of breast cancer could be prevented in the EU if the cancer establishment recognised environmental and occupational risk factors as a major contributory factor in the rising breast cancer epidemic, according to a briefing published in January 2008. The briefing "Politics and Prevention: Linking breast cancer and our environment' from WECF highlights this neglect of the risk factors. "What's preventing prevention?" asks Helen Lynn, author of the briefing. "Conventionally accepted risk factors only account for 50-70 % of breast cancer cases leaving 30-50 % with no known cause. We believe exposure to toxic chemicals is one of the missing risk factors for breast cancer and, as such, is a major contributor to the rising cases of the disease. Yet our governments and the cancer establishments are ignoring this potential route to prevention despite the mounting evidence. We want to know why?
WECF Press Release, January, 2008

Childhood leukemia development and correlation with traffic air pollution in Taiwan using nitrogen dioxide as an air pollutant marker.
To investigate the relationship between traffic air pollution and development of childhood leukemia (14 yr of age or younger), studies were conducted on a matched cancer case-control cohort using childhood deaths that occurred in Taiwan from 1995 through 2005. The results showed that there was a significant exposure-response relationship between exposure to traffic exhaust pollutants and the risk of leukemia among young children after controlling for possible confounders. The findings of this study warrant further investigation of the role of traffic air pollution in the etiology of childhood leukemia.
Weng HH, et al., J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2008;71(7):434-8

Nitrosamine carcinogens in chlorinated swimming pools
Abstract: Highly carcinogenic N-nitrosodialkylamine (nitrosamine) disinfection byproducts were quantified in chlorinated swimming pools, hot tubs, and aquaria. N-Nitrosodimethylamine, the most abundant nitrosamine detected, was measured in swimming pools and hot tubs at levels up to 500-fold greater than the drinking water concentration of 0.7 ng/L associated with a one in one million lifetime cancer risk. Temperature, enclosure, amine and nitrite precursor loading, and the use of disinfection schemes with reduced chlorine doses contributed to statistically significant variability in its occurrence. N-Nitrosodibutylamine and N-nitrosopiperidine were also detected but together represented <5% of the total analyte distribution. The presence of N-nitrodimethylamine at levels comparable to N - nitrosodimethylamine points to a competition between the nitration and nitrosation of amines in chlorinated recreational waters. Since nitrosamines can cause bladder cancer, the significance of our measurements needs clarification with respect to recent epidemiological results that are suggestive of a link between swimming in chlorinated pools and bladder cancer.
Walse S, et al., Environmental Science and Technology, 2008. Article in Press. ASAP Article, 10.1021/es702301p

Household exposure to pesticides and risk of childhood haematopoietic malignancies: the ESCALE study (SFCE).
Pregnant women exposed to household pesticides may increase the risk of their children developing leukemia, according to a recent study conducted in France. These findings add more weight to the idea that pesticides play a role in childhood blood cancers and may shed light on the actual causes of the diseases. In the study, parents of leukemia patients were more likely to have used pesticides and insecticides either at home or at work. Exposure to these chemicals is a risk factor for blood cancers, particularly if children are exposed in the womb, the authors' conclude.
Rudant J, et al., Environmental Health Perspectives, 2007 115:1787–1793

Cancer and globalization
Global human cancer is increasing. Exposures to cancer risk factors are not only becoming more prevalent in the less industrialized countries, but they have also become more complex all over the world. Human societies have always traded and migrated, yet the growth of powerful economic institutions and globalization is accelerating, mixing many cancer risk factors. Critically, new cancer risk factors have also appeared, concurrent with globalization: modern diet, addictive products, pharmaceuticals, and toxic and waste products. Prevention, which still rests on recognition and elimination of exposure to carcinogens, is difficult, with seemingly opposed priorities such as income (corporate or individual) versus health. The solutions require not only individual behavioural change but also more importantly innovative action of all concerned at the global, collective level.
Annie J Sasco, Biomed Pharmacother. 2007 Dec 5

Testicular Cancer Risk in First- and Second-Generation Immigrants to Denmark
Immigrant studies offer insights into the relative importance of environment and genes in disease etiology. There is considerable variation in testicular cancer incidence worldwide. We investigated testicular cancer risk in first- and second-generation immigrants to Denmark, a high-incidence country, to evaluate the relative influence of genes and environment and the potential timing of action of environmental factor(s). Results: Overall, 4216 testicular cancer cases occurred during 43 million person-years of follow-up in 2.1 million men. These included 166 cases among 344444 direct immigrants to Denmark and 13 cases among 56189 men born in Denmark to immigrant parents. These first- and second-generation immigrants had RRs of testicular cancer of 0.37 (95% CI = 0.31 to 0.43) and 0.88 (95% CI = 0.51 to 1.53), respectively, compared with men born in Denmark of parents born in Denmark. The rate in first-generation immigrants was not modified by age at immigration or duration of stay and reflected that in the country of origin. Conclusion: The testicular cancer risk in first-generation immigrants was lower than that in native-born Danes and reflected that in the countries of origin, whereas the risk in second-generation immigrants was similar to that in natives of Denmark. Together these findings argue for a substantial influence of environmental factors limited to the period early in life, most probably to the period in utero.
Charlotte Myrup, et al., JNCI, 2008 100(1):41-47; doi:10.1093/jnci/djm276

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