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Pesticides linked to cancer increases

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Pesticides linked to cancer increases

A 'dramatic' increase in a range of occupational and childhood cancers has been linked to pesticide exposures. A report published last week by CHEM Trust links exposure prior to conception or during pregnancy to higher rates of childhood cancer and warns that farm workers could also be developing cancers caused by pesticide exposures at work. It says several studies 'strongly suggest' that pesticide exposures are associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), leukaemia, prostate cancer and other hormone-related cancers. The report says environmental factors 'must be partly to blame' for massive increases in the incidence of certain cancers since 1975. It says cases of NHL have more than doubled, prostate cancer has tripled, testicular cancer has doubled and breast cancer in women has increased by two-thirds, and in men has quadrupled. Stirling University's Professor Andrew Watterson, a co-author of the report commented: 'Occupational and environmental cancers have been a neglected public health issue in the UK for decades. The report highlights the substantial nature of the threat from pesticide exposure.' He added: 'In the UK, oversight of pesticides has continued to err on the side of products rather than people and of course relies on data generated initially by the pesticide manufacturers. The regulatory response has usually been 'if in doubt, do continue using pesticides' when the scientific literature is littered with examples of products that have been cleared in the past emerging as known or suspect human carcinogens.' The professor concluded: 'There is a long-overdue and urgent need to mount a cancer prevention campaign on pesticides based on effective precautionary principles.'

Chem Trust news release [pdf] and report [pdf]. Green jobs, safe jobs blog. Scotsman.

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