Category Archives Issue 348

Described by the media as “landmark” and “extraordinary,” the President’s Cancer Panel newly issued 2008-2009 Annual Report claims that the National Cancer Program has not adequately addressed the “true burden of environmentally induced cancer.” According to the panel’s transmittal letter, some 80,000 chemicals are on the market in the United States, and Americans are exposed daily to many of them, even before birth. Particularly noted were exposures to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), formaldehyde and benzene. The report examines the impact of environmental exposures on cancer risk, identifies the barriers to understanding and reducing the exposures and makes recommendations to overcome these barriers. Noting that 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer and 21 percent will die from the disease, the panel of Bush administration appointees maintains that inadequate attention and funding have been provided to the environmental causes of cancer. The panel also criticizes the scientific…