Americans facing grievous harm from chemicals in the air, food and water

May 9 2010

By Candy Lashkari

The U.S. President's Cancer Panel has come out with a new report on cancer risks and preventive measures, but policy makers don't seem interested. While the report is being praised by cancer awareness activists the majority of the government seems strangely unaffected by the new report. The President's Cancer Panel usually has three members appointed by the President but as of now there are only two people on the panel, namely Dr. Leffall and Dr. Margaret L. Kripke.

Dr. LaSalle Leffall is the Professor of Surgery at Howards University College of Medicine in Washington. Dr Margaret Kripke is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Both the members were appointed by President George W. Bush. After two years of meetings and presentations with academic and government scientists they have submitted their new report.

The findings of the study show that Americans are facing grievous harm from chemicals in the air, food and water. The President's Cancer Panel called for a new national strategy to deal with threats in the environment and at work places.

"With the growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the unacceptable burden of cancer resulting from environmental and occupational exposures that could have been prevented through appropriate national action," the panel wrote in a report released last Thursday.

Kenneth A. Cook, President and co-founder of Environmental Working Group, an environmental advocacy group said, "There are far too many known and suspected cancer-causing chemicals in products people, young and old, use every day of their lives. Many of these chemicals are believed to be time bombs, altering the genetic-level switching mechanisms that lead to cancerous cellular growth in later life."

It is believed that around 80,000 chemicals are in regular commercial use in the U.S. but the federal regulators have only been able to check about 200 for safety. As per the panel the country need to overhaul the existing laws for use of chemicals.This conclusion has found support by public health groups, environmental advocates and the Obama administration.

The effects of chemicals on children are particularly disturbing as the health impact of chemicals on fetuses and children is often not studied enough. In 2009 it is estimated that about 1.5 million Americans including men, women and children were diagnosed with cancer and 562,000 people died from the disease.

Dr. Graham Colditz of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said, "The lack of physical activity, weight gain, obesity clearly account for 20 percent or more of cancer in the United States today."

“It's tobacco use and other unhealthy behaviors that are the main culprits and not pollution or chemicals lurking in our water bottles. What ever the case may be it can not be denied that cancers are on the rise and that some remedial action is needed”.