Go Chemical-Free

For a long time, we have known that our overall health is shaped by our biology, as well as the way we live. Now, we are also learning how our health and risk for disease, including breast cancer, are influenced by our environment – most specifically our exposure to harmful chemicals. Below, we discuss the growing evidence and share positive steps we can all take to limit chemical exposure in our everyday lives.

Growing evidence: The links between chemicals and breast cancer
The effect of synthetic chemicals on human health and the risk of cancer is a complex and growing area of research. Cancer research and studies of workers’ health have proved that some chemical exposures cause cancer. In fact, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has identified over 100 known carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) in our environment, with many more suspected as probable or possible causes of cancer.

You may be surprised to learn that most of the chemicals made and used in North America have not been assessed for their risk to human health or their impact on the environment. Since 1994, Canada has included health and environmental effects in its assessment of the risk of chemicals. However, the risk-assessment approach looks at chemicals in isolation, whereas in real life we are exposed to a mix of chemicals at low levels every day.

Key areas of breast cancer research on chemical exposures
Current research is exploring the effects of synthetic chemicals on human health, including factors that may increase the risk of breast cancer. The following are some of the key research areas that will help deepen our knowledge of chemical exposures and breast cancer risk:

  • The health effects of hormone-disrupting chemicals. Evidence suggests that some synthetic chemicals alter how our natural hormones work and may influence the development of breast cancer. A number of these chemicals are found in consumer products, including personal care products. Research is exploring the links between these hormone-disruptors and breast cancer risk.
  • The health effects, including breast cancer risk, of low-level exposure to chemicals over a lifetime and the daily exposure to a mixture of chemicals in our environment. Research has found traces of synthetic chemicals in human blood, urine, breast milk and breast tumours. Women tend to have higher levels of these chemicals than men.
  • The physical and health effects of chemical exposures during critical periods of human development, including for the fetus during pregnancy, in infancy and during puberty.
  • Safe alternatives to known carcinogens found in Canadian workplaces and consumer products.

Limiting your chemical exposure
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation supports the use of the precautionary principle as a way to apply evolving breast cancer prevention evidence in our daily lives. By following the precautionary principle in your life, when scientific evidence is inconclusive you put your health first and err on the side of caution.

We encourage you to take precautions that put your health, and the health of others, first by learning how to limit your chemical exposure at home and in the workplace.

Individual change is a first step. Advocating for change to improve the environments we live and work in is the next so that healthier choices are the easy, accessible and affordable options for everyone.

Join us in the campaign to stop breast cancer before it starts. Encourage people in your life to join the campaign too.

Sources:
Brody, J. G. & Rudel, R. A. (2008). Environmental Pollutants and Breast Cancer: The Evidence from Animal and Human Studies. In Breast Diseases: A Year Book Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 1. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Gray, J. (Sixth Ed, 2010). State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Breast Cancer Fund. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Griffin, S. (2009) Environmental Exposure: The CancerSmart Guide to Breast Cancer Prevention. Toxic Free Canada.

Gilbertson, M. & Brophy, J. (2001). Community Health Profile of Windsor, Ontario, Canada: Anatomy of a Great Lakes Area of Concern. In Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements Vol 109, Number S6, Dec. 2011. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Government of Canada. (Nov 2009). Overview of the Chemicals Management Plan. Accessed July 31, 2011.

International Agency for Research on Cancer, Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Vols 1-100. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc. (2001). Preventing Occupational and Environmental Cancer. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Reuben, S. H. for the President’s Cancer Panel. (April 2010). Reducing Environmental Risk. What We Can Do Now. U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Schwarzman, M. & Janssen, S. (2010). Pathways to Breast Cancer: A Case Study for Innovation in Chemical Safety Evaluation. A report of the Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy Project, produced by the University of California, Berkeley and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Limiting your exposure to chemicals in the home

Studies of indoor air and household dust show that we are exposed to a mix of synthetic chemicals in our homes each and every day. The outside air, building materials, furniture, personal possessions, and the products we use all contribute to this chemical mix.

Research on the relationship between chemical exposures and human health suggests that low-level chemical exposures in our environment can cause unintended changes in our bodies, including disruptions in the hormonal system, early puberty or altered mammary gland development, all of which are known triggers for human breast cancer.

Below, we discuss various sources of chemical exposure in the home and how they may be linked to breast cancer risk. We also offer practical tips on how to limit your exposure to chemicals in food, plastics, and products for personal care, your household, and children.

The right to know
As consumers, we have the right to know what chemicals are in a product and, more importantly, if these chemicals could be harmful to our health. Such knowledge would help us to make more informed choices about the products we buy.

Taking precautions for your health
Science does not have all the answers yet; more research is needed to better understand the links between chemical exposure and the development of breast cancer. However, based on what we do know, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation encourages you to follow the precautionary principle. Based on both conclusive and emerging scientific evidence, there are many practical solutions and concrete steps you can take now to help reduce your breast cancer risk.

We encourage you to take precautions that put your health, and the health of others, first by learning how to limit your exposure to toxic chemicals in food, plastics, and products for personal care, your household, and children.

Food
The food we eat can be the biggest source of our daily exposure to environmental contaminants. By being aware of what we eat and drink, we can significantly limit our exposure:

  • Wash your fruit and vegetables well to remove pesticide traces.
  • Try to buy local, pesticide-free or fully organic food.
  • Look for hormone-free meat and dairy products.
  • Look for BPA-free canned food. BPA (Bisphenol A) is used in the plastic lining of metal cans to prevent corrosion. A known hormone disruptor, it may leach from the can into the food inside. If you cannot find BPA-free canned food, opt for fresh or frozen instead of canned.
  • Choose drinks in glass bottles or BPA-free plastics instead of BPA-lined cans. Carry water in stainless steel, glass, or BPA-free containers to reduce exposure to hormone-disruptors that may leach into the water.

Plastics
When plastics are made, discarded after use, and destroyed by incineration, chemical contaminants are released into the environment, and concerns have been raised about the possible health and environmental effects. There are ways you can reduce your household’s chemical exposure to known carcinogens and hormone disruptors found in plastics:

  • Learn what the recycling codes on plastics mean and try to avoid #3 (PVC), #6 (polystyrene) and #7 (polycarbonate), all of which are associated with breast cancer risk.
  • Avoid using water bottles, drinking cups and food containers made with polycarbonate, BPA or polystyrene (Styrofoam).
  • When microwaving, use ceramic or glass containers instead of plastic to prevent leaching from the container to your food.

Personal care products and cosmetics
Take a moment to think about the cosmetics and personal care items you use on a daily basis. Whatever is applied to the body is also absorbed by the body. When the products we use contain ingredients of concern such as phthalates, parabens, alkylphenols, fragrance or parfum and placental extracts, we may be increasing our risk of disease, including breast cancer.

Here’s how changes in your daily routine can help to limit your chemical exposure:

  • Use fewer or simpler products.
  • Read the label and avoid products with “parfum” or “fragrance.”
  • Beware of claims that a product is organic or natural; read the label to find out what is really in it.

Household products
Some of the products we use to clean and decorate our homes and take care of our yards and gardens include ingredients that are carcinogens and hormone disruptors.

Here’s how you changes in your household habits can help to limit your chemical exposure:

  • Switch to non-toxic household products; look for products with the Terrachoice EcoLogo or another credible certification of “green” products and services, or ask the store about safer products.
  • Avoid chlorine bleach and bleach products; look for “processed chlorine free” on the label.
  • Use pesticide-free or non-toxic products in your yard and garden; avoid products with 2,4-D or malathion.

For children
Current research is looking into the possible effects of chemical exposures during key periods of human development: for the fetus during pregnancy, in infancy and during puberty. Due to their size and stage of development, children and teenagers may be at a higher risk from the possible health effects of chemical exposures.

Here’s how you can limit children’s chemical exposure:

  • Look for BPA-free baby bottles and feeding cups.
  • When microwaving, use ceramic or glass containers instead of plastic to prevent leaching from the container to the food.
  • Avoid buying second-hand, soft vinyl toys and childcare articles that children may put in their mouths.
  • When buying new toys or childcare articles, ask the store what their products are made from and, in the case of plastic toys, if they have phthalate-free articles.

Although traces of chemicals have been found in breast milk, the benefits of breastfeeding for women and their babies still vastly outweigh the risks.

Join us in the campaign to stop breast cancer before it starts. Encourage people in your life to join the campaign too.

More Information
Breast Cancer Fund
Environmental Working Group: Skin Deep Cosmetics Database
Health Canada: consumer product safety

Sources
Gray, J. (Sixth Ed, 2010). State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Breast Cancer Fund. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Griffin, S. (2009) Environmental Exposure: The CancerSmart Guide to Breast Cancer Prevention. Toxic Free Canada.

Griffin, S. (2007). CancerSmart 3.0. The Consumer Guide. Labour Environmental Alliance Society.

Hutchcroft, S. A. et al (Eds). (2010). Headliners: Breast Cancer: Decreased Melatonin Production Linked to Light Exposure. In Environmental Health Perspectives Vol 114, No. 2. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Reducing your chemical exposure in the workplace

Close to 60 workplace chemicals are listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as known or probable causes of human cancer. Furthermore, at least 100 workplace chemicals are suspected of being possible causes of cancer. Depending on where we work and what we do for a living, our health may be affected by our exposure to toxic chemicals.

Below, we discuss various sources of chemical exposure in the workplace and how they may be linked to breast cancer risk. We also share precautionary steps that can be taken to help protect workers’ health and safety.

Work and breast cancer risk
Breast cancer is a disease with many established risk factors, possible causes and a long latency period. Connecting the dots between the workplace, health and cancer risk is an important area of research that is made complicated by the typical working life. Most of us, for example, have numerous jobs over the course of a lifetime. Meanwhile, few of us record or accurately remember possible workplace exposures from the past, and health care providers rarely track such information.

According to workplace health research, individuals working in the following occupations may have an increased risk of breast cancer:

  • Workers with exposure to toxic chemicals in agriculture or the manufacturing of textiles, paper, microelectronics or automobiles.
  • Health care providers who work with ionizing radiation.
  • Workers with high levels of exposure to diesel exhaust, for example, in heavy truck traffic areas, including border service agents.
  • Long-term night-shift workers whose exposure to artificial light at night may reduce their levels of a key hormone called melatonin, which is thought to play a role in suppressing or slowing down the growth of human breast tumours.

For a summary of research on environmental risks and breast cancer, see the Breast Cancer Fund’s report State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment.

Precautionary steps for your health and safety at work

The following are steps you can take now to help protect your personal health and safety in the workplace.

  • Know your workplace health and safety rights. You have the right to know if you are being exposed to workplace hazards, including chemicals; if your employer is using safer alternatives; and whether or not you have received adequate training.
  • Learn about the health risks of your workplace. Use protective equipment and clothing at all times of potential exposure. Your employer should provide training to ensure you know exactly how and when to use such equipment and clothing.
  • If you have concerns about health risks or your workplace’s health and safety practices, speak to your supervisor or your Occupational Health and Safety Committee.
  • If you feel unable to address your concerns about health and safety with your employer, contact the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers Inc. or the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety for information and advice.
  • If you are self-employed or work for a small organization and wish to learn more about health and safety issues, contact the Ontario Ministry of Labour, or the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety for more information.
  • Consider asking your health care provider to keep an occupational history in your medical records and inform them of chemical exposures and health and safety practices in your workplace. Include information on any hobbies you may have that expose you to chemicals.
  • If you work with chemicals, there is a chance you may carry them into your home on your shoes and clothing. To help protect the health of others in your household, remove shoes when entering the home and wash work clothes separately.

More research is needed to identify occupational risks and precautionary steps that regulators and employers should take to keep workers safe on the job and reduce their risk of cancer, including breast cancer.

Join us in the campaign to stop breast cancer before it starts. Encourage people in your life to join the campaign too.

More Information
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers Inc.
CAREX Canada: surveillance of environmental and occupational exposures for cancer prevention

Sources

Brophy, J. T., et al. (2006). Occupation and Breast Cancer. A Canadian Case-Control Study. In the Annals of NY Academy of Science.

Gray, J. (Sixth Ed, 2010). State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Breast Cancer Fund. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Griffin, S. (2009) Environmental Exposure: The CancerSmart Guide to Breast Cancer Prevention. Toxic Free Canada.

Occupational Cancer Research Centre. About OCRC. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Reuben, S. H. for the President’s Cancer Panel. (April 2010). Reducing Environmental Risk. What We Can Do Now. U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Straif, K. et al, on behalf of the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph Working Group. (December 2007). Carcinogenicity of shift-work, painting and fire-fighting. In The Lancet Oncology, Vol. 8, No. 12, pp. 1065-1066. Accessed July 31, 2011.

Tillett T. (2006). Headliners: Breast Cancer: Decreased Melatonin Production Linked to Light Exposure. In Environmental Health Perspectives Vol 114, No. 2. Accessed July 31, 2011.