Is there a good website to find out where there are high numbers of...

[Up2Late]

...Childhood and Environmentally caused Cancer cases?

By "Environmentally caused" I mean where people have figured out that the Super Fund site or Toxic Waste Dump that they live by, is most likely the cause of their Cancer.

I ask for two reasons, One is that I just watched (and posted about) the Documentary "A LION IN THE HOUSE" on PBS, and was wondering if all those poor kids and their families knew if they were living in a "Cancer Pocket," because...

Reason two, I found out about two years ago that, in the town which I grew up, I was most likely drinking contaminated water from 2 of the 3 EPA "Super Fund" toxic waste sites in my small Indiana town of Elkhart. It wasn't something that was widely known in my town in the 1970's and 80's.

I only found out about the fact that I once lived less than a mile from a "Super Fund" toxic waste dump, and that 70% of the cities water, which was also a "Super Fund" site, because I stumbled upon the info, thanks to the information being available on the Internet.

Once I found out, I began to wonder if their were any long term effects, because my Mother did get Uterus Cancer while we lived there, and all the Cats we had in that town, all had major stomach tumors when they died, and they all died rather young.


I Posted about "A LION IN THE HOUSE" here: <http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1480460>

[pecwae]

1. I've run across

something of that nature in my research on my own condition, but can't recall where. It may have been postulated by Dr. Mercola, Dr. Clark or Ralph Moss, so it would have had no hard proofs. If I see something else I'll post here for you.

I had a physician in Boone, NC tell me that there was an unusually high number of BC in that area and he felt strongly that it was due to the chemicals used on the Christmas tree farms that dot the mountainsides. The crap runs off and gets into the wells and springs. Not to mention there are many households who pump their sewage into local streams. It's illegal, but they do it until they get caught. I rescued a stray pup there who smelled horribly no matter how many times I bathed her. It was just that the poor thing had only a fouled stream to drink from.

[OzarkDem]

2. A couple of things

Here's a good background paper to read about the topic of breast cancer & environment - it can be applied to most cancers

http://www.natlbcc.org/bin/index.asp?strid=37&depid=9&btnid=2


Here are some good links to groups and government agencies that support research into environmental factors that influence cancer.

Silent Spring Institute - founded by Rachel Carson who wrote the groundbreaking book and who died from breast cancer

http://www.silentspring.org/

Breast Cancer Fund -
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=43969

National Institutes of Envirnomental Health Sciences - a good government agency that would like to do more, but doesn't have the money

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/

National Cancer Institute page on Cancer Clusters

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/clusters

Here's a link to an excellent program at Cornell University that has a lot of good information about biomonitoring and environmental monitoring. I strongly recommend watching their videos or slide shows

http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/presentations/presentations.cfm

also the Envirochem and Cancer Database

http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/eccd/


On the downside, there's not a lot of peer reviewed scientific research that has been done on many of the toxic chemicals we're exposed to. Expect to meet resistance if you identify chemicals that may be causing cancer in your area because there may not be a significant body of research to justify any action. A number of groups are advocating for legislation to fund more research into environmental factors related to cancer, including the National Breast Cancer Coalition, who has spearheaded the Breast Cancer & Environmental Research Institute at the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. This will help build the body of evidence needed to justify banning many cancer causing agents.

When it comes to polluting industries or contamininants in your area, you still have to rely on the EPA.

Link to Superfund sites

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm

If you want to look into reporting a problem, go to your state department of health. They are the ones who have the authority to begin an investigation and request assistance from the EPA.

Good luck!

[Up2Late]

3. Thank you very much, I'll be going though these links for the next...

...few days, they look like just what I needed. :hug:

[Stepup2]

4. This is a great list for info on the enviro links

Another site I would add is Sandra Steingraber's webiste. Look under the resources link on the left side of the main page. Many of the sites posted above are included there along with several others. Steingraber is at Cornell now, I think, and her books are well written and very informative.


http://www.steingraber.com/

You can also research the topic of environmental justice. This will lead you to other ideas/info re the cancer/enviro topics.

This is a frustrating and maddening topic as the research to date is unconclusive. I think the idea of a one to one will not likely reveal a casual relationship.