CPOPOnline.ca

$2.8 million to study occupational
causes of cancer
Feb. 14, 2012
A team led by Dr Jack Siemiatycki of the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre with Dr Michael Pollak of McGill University has received the go ahead for a five-year project to develop and apply CANJEM, a job-exposure matrix, to discover occupational causes of lung, brain, ovarian and colorectal cancer. Link.

June 23, 2011: To the Last Drop is Al-Jazeera's documentary on cancer rates in Fort Chippewan, Alta., upstream from the oil sands project. With rates of leukemias and lymphomas three times higher than expected, and rates of bile duct cancer seven times higher, the psychological and social fallout has been severe. Link to video.

Exposure to pesticides and risk of childhood cancer: a meta-analysis of recent epidemiological studies, Occup Environ Med 2011; Published Online 23 May 2011
“Despite some limitations in this study, the incidence of childhood cancer does appear to be associated with parental exposure during the prenatal period.”

Cancer incidence within a cohort occupationally exposed to asbestos: a study of dose–response relationships, Occup Environ Med 2011; Published Online 15 March 2011
“While confirming the established relationship between asbestos exposure and pleuropulmonary and peritoneal cancers, this study also suggests a causal relationship between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer.”

Wood dust exposure and risk of lung cancer, Occup Environ Med 2010; Published Online 11 November 2010
“This study provided somewhat reassuring evidence that softwood dust does not increase the risk of lung cancer, but future studies should evaluate exposure to hardwood dusts.”

CPOP Talk, November 2010 - When researchers in Montreal mapped air pollution levels in parts of the city, they found that levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) varied from 5 parts per billion (ppb) to more than 30 ppb. After superimposing the addresses of post-menopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer on the NO2 map, the team found that women had a 25% higher risk of breast cancer with every 5 ppb increase in NO2 levels. Co-author Mark Goldberg says the findings don't mean that nitrogen dioxide causes cancer. The researchers didn't measure actual exposure, which would mean knowing daily activity patterns, time spent outdoors, and so on. The authors recommend more research to examine the connection more closely. (Click to be redirected to the abstract.)

The David Suzuki Foundation recently released a report called The Dirty Dozen, which looks at toxic chemicals in cosmetics. The foundation asked Canadians to check the ingredient list of their own cosmetics and toiletries for 12 sets of chemicals, including BHA, nitrosamines and formaldehyde, which have been linked to cancer. More than 6,200 people analyzed 12,550 products. Nearly 80% of those products contained at least one of the 12 sets of chemicals; more than half contained one or more ingredient linked to cancer.

To determine how your own products rate, go to Skin Deep, a searchable database of roughly 64,000 personal care products created by the Environmental Working Group in Washington, DC. (The organization’s methodology can be found here.)  Products are ranked from zero to 10, with higher numbers being more hazardous.

According to the Suzuki Foundation’s survey results, products categorized as safer were sold under the brands Aubrey Organics, Avalon Organics, Druide, Green Beaver, Jason, Kiss My Face, Nature’s Gate, Prairie Naturals, Rocky Mountain Soap Co., and Tom’s of Maine. (Products categorized as “most loaded” are also listed on the Suzuki Foundation’s website.) The Environmental Association of Nova Scotia has researched less-toxic products; its guide, which describes the product selection process, can be found at www.lesstoxicguide.ca.  

For people looking for safer alternatives, some pharmacies, large retailers and grocery stores carry products, often in a distinct section of the store; the Atlantic Superstore’s health product section carries Jason, Tom’s, and Aubrey, for instance. Some organic food retailers carry products. If all else fails, order online.

- Jan Matthews, CPOP Talk, November 2010

Work-related carcinogens need more scrutiny
Why aren't workers better protected, asks breast cancer survivor CBC News, Mar 22, 2012