New studies link 200 chemicals to breast cancer, the leading cause of death to American women in their late 30s to early 50s. Marla Cone writes in the Los Angeles Times:
Of the 200 breast carcinogens, “73 are present in consumer products or are food contaminants — 1,4-dioxane in shampoos, for example, or acrylamide in French fries. Thirty-five are common air pollutants, 25 are in workplaces where at least 5,000 women are employed, and 10 are food additives, according to the reports.
Only about 1,000 of the 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the United States have been tested on animals to see whether they induce cancerous tumors or mutate DNA. Such tests cost $2 million each.”
For more on environmental toxins, read Cone’s Dozens of Words for Snow, None for Pollution in our January 2005 issue. “Perched atop the Arctic food chain, the people of the Far North face an impossible choice: abandon their traditional foods, or ingest the rest of the world’s poisons with every bite.”
