IT MAKES for uncomfortable reading, but a review of 900 studies involving humans and rodents has produced a comprehensive list of chemicals in our food, air and water that may cause breast cancer.
At least 29 of them are produced in the US in large amounts, and while many of these chemicals have been examined in the past, we still know relatively little about their effects, says Ruthann Rudell of the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Massachusetts, who led the research. Of the 216 chemicals identified, 73 have been documented in consumer products or as contaminants in food, and a further 10 were registered with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as food additives. Thirty five are air pollutants.
Some of the most common compounds cited include: acrylamide, formed when starchy foods, such as french fries, are heated to high-temperatures; perfluorooctanoic acid, used in non-stick and stain-resistant coatings on rugs, furniture, clothes and cookware; and malachite green, a textile dye also used as a cheap antifungal agent in fish hatcheries.
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The authors say that the screening of potential carcinogens needs to be made less expensive and time-consuming. 鈥淚f methods were more efficient, a higher proportion of chemicals in use could be evaluated,鈥� they write in Cancer (vol 109, p 2397).
鈥淭he screening of potential carcinogens needs to be made less expensive鈥�
