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Air pollution linked to childhood cancers
Source: (cancerfacts.com)
Monday, January 17, 2005
LONDON – Jan. 17, 2005 – Most childhood cancers are likely related to industrial and environmental pollutants, most probably inhaled by the mother during pregnancy, according to a new study.
The study conducted by Dr. E.G. Knox, professor emeritus, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, points out that several of the implicated compounds may not directly cause the disease, but instead trigger chemical processes within cells that lead to disease.
The chemical compounds Knox cites as most likely contributors to ill health effects include carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides, which are associated with oil burning, particularly in engines; and non-methane volatile organic compounds, including benzene, 1,3-butadiene, benz(a)pyrene, and dioxins. Animal research has already identified some of these compounds as carcinogens, Knox says. Non-methane volatile organic compounds include solvent use, engine exhaust, fuel evaporation, and other industrial or refinery processes.
"Most childhood cancers are probably initiated by close perinatal (around the time of birth) encounters with one or more of these high emissions sources," Knox said in a news release. His study appears in the Feb. 2005 issue of the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The author based his findings on a chemical emissions map for the UK, produced by the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory for 2001, and details of all children who had died from leukemia and other cancers before their 16th birthday in Great Britain between 1953 and 1980.
When all the data had been compiled and the risks calculated, children born within a 1 km radius (0.6 mile) of emissions hotspots of particular chemicals were between two and four times as likely to die of cancer before reaching the age of 16, as other children.
Closeness to emissions of 1,3-butadiene and carbon monoxide carried the highest risks.
The low atmospheric levels of these substances suggest that the mother may breathe them in, with carcinogens passing across the placenta, Knox said. But he adds "effective direct exposures in early infancy, or through breast milk, or even preconception, cannot be excluded."
To view the paper in full, go to the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
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