Public Hearing and New Report Reveal Environmental Links to Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Fund
Wednesday, 20 February 2002

Alliance of Calif. Breast Cancer Organizations Calls for Reduction of Cancer-Causing Chemicals

The California Senate Health & Human Services Committee, under the leadership of State Senator Deborah Ortiz, held an informational hearing today that revealed new information on the links between toxic chemicals found in our environment and breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Fund along with Breast Cancer Action, Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates, Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, Marin Breast Cancer Watch and the Women's Cancer Resource Center provided expert witnesses and information for the hearing and testified about the need to act on the evidence with a five-point plan to reduce cancer-causing chemicals in our bodies and our environment.

"We hold great hope that this day will be remembered as the turning point in the breast cancer epidemic in California," said Jeanne Rizzo, Executive Director of The Breast Cancer Fund. "The important message we bring today is that there is ample evidence that synthetic chemicals in the environment are contributing to breast cancer and we must take precautionary measures to save women's lives."

Central to the hearing was the release of State of the Evidence: What is the Connection Between Chemicals and Breast Cancer? © The Breast Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action. This white paper reveals that:

- When all known risk factors and characteristics are added together, more than 50 percent of breast cancer cases remain unexplained.

- 85,000 synthetic chemicals are registered for use today in the US, and more than 90 percent have never been tested for their effects on human health.

- 43 chemicals are shown to induce mammary tumors in laboratory animals -- chemicals that are still in use today.

- The strongest evidence linking chemicals to breast cancer involves natural and synthetic estrogens, including pesticides like simazine, vinyl chloride released during the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and methylene chloride, found in spray paints and paint removers.

- Other chemicals show a less certain link to breast cancer, but should not be ruled out, including dioxin, created when plastics or other materials containing chlorine are burned; PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls, previously used in the manufacture of electrical equipment and other products; and phthalates, used to make plastic soft and flexible.

"The evidence linking toxic chemicals to breast cancer is very real and cannot be ignored," said Dr. Philip Lee, professor emeritus at UCSF and former Assistant Secretary of Health & Human Services under Presidents Clinton and Johnson, who introduced State of the Evidence at the hearing. "From laboratory research that implicates 43 chemical compounds in breast cancer formation to studies that show that all women carry persistent pollutants in their bodies, the results from these scientific studies are very alarming."

Based on this evidence, the six groups called for the implementation of the following five-point plan of action to reduce cancer-causing chemicals in our bodies and our environment:

1. Phase out unnecessary use of toxic chemicals.

2. Enact "sunshine" laws that are proven to reduce the use of toxics by requiring companies to report how many tons of chemicals they use, and enforce existing environmental protection laws.

3. Practice healthy purchasing, with local, state and federal governments leading the way in purchasing environmentally preferable products, thereby creating an example for individuals and businesses to follow.

4. Offer corporate incentives that encourage businesses to eliminate the use of harmful chemicals in their products and processes and to adopt business practices that are healthier for our environment.

5. Monitor breast milk through a comprehensive community program that identifies the chemicals present in breast milk, establishes links to geographic areas and initiates a plan to eliminate these contaminants.

"We are in the trenches of the failed 'war on cancer,' and we experience every day the devastation that the increasing incidence of breast cancer is having on California's communities," said Barbara Brenner, Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action, on behalf of the six California-based organization that focus on breast and other cancers. "Along with many, many other organizations and individuals throughout California and the country, we care deeply about finding and eradicating the causes of this disease."

"A statewide commitment to basic environmental health efforts will reduce the risk and incidence of breast cancer," concluded Rizzo. "Detection, however debatably early it is, is not prevention. Treatment that exposes us to radiation, toxic chemicals and surgical insult is not a solution. State of the Evidence leads us to read prevention and real solutions."

Additional expert witnesses who provided testimony at the hearing included: Andrea Martin, Founder of The Breast Cancer Fund; Carmen Ortiz, PhD, developer of Spanish-language breast cancer support systems; Karen Pierce, President of Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates; Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH, Director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the CDC; Gary Erickson, CEO and owner of Clif Bar, Inc; and Amy Kyle, PhD, MPH, Research Scientist at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health.

For copies of State of the Evidence: What is the Connection Between Chemicals and Breast Cancer? please contact Megan Fowler at 415-346-8223 x14 or megan@breastcancerfund.org; or go to http://www.breastcancerfund.org/environment.htm

For more information, or to contact Breast Cancer Fund, see their website at: www.breastcancerfund.org