An estimated 100,000 synthetic chemicals are
believed to be in use today in the United States. Another 1,000 or
more are added each year. More than 90 percent have never
been tested for their effects on human health. Many of
these chemicals persist in the environment, accumulate in body fat
and remain in breast tissue for decades. Studies by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that
Americans of all ages carry a body burden of at least 148
chemicals that have been measured, some of them banned for more
than two decades because of toxicity. These studies alone
cannot establish cause but can reveal the internal contamination
of our bodies by chemicals with known carcinogenic activity.
Patterns of breast cancer incidence indicate the
importance of environmental exposures. Women who move from
countries with low breast cancer rates to industrialized countries
soon acquire the higher risk of their new country. The largest
study ever conducted among twins found that environmental
exposures unique to those with breast cancer made the most
significant contribution to the development of the disease.
Download a full report entitled:
What Is the
Connection Between the Environment and Breast Cancer?
