|
|
|
This page: http://www.geocities.com/fltaxpayer/endocrine/cancer.html
General Note: Dioxin causes expensive disabilities like ADD/ADHD, diabetes and cancer. Eliminate endocrine disruptors like dioxin and save $4,000/year/household on unnecessarily high Medicare and private medical insurance, disability taxes and extra income taxes to make up for taxes not paid by unnecessarily disabled people. |
|
"It's the Darth Vader of toxic chemicals because it affects so many systems [of the body]. The amounts are coming down, but even small amounts are harmful." Richard Clapp Boston University epidemiologist For additional details from the EPA Dioxin Report and court papers, click on link at bottom of page: "Professional Dioxin Reports" or at slower duplicate page: http://sites.netscape.net/georgecjeffrey/homepage ========================== EPA Links: Dioxin to Cancer. "Wide-ranging effects identified in report could boost regulation." Cindy Skrzycki and Joby Warrick The Washington Post http://www.msnbc.com/news/408433.asp 5/17/2000 Washington DC The Clinton administration is preparing to dramatically raise its estimate of health threats from dioxin, citing new evidence of cancer risk from exposure to the highly toxic chemical compound. A DRAFT of a long-awaited report by the Environmental Protection Agency concludes for the first time that dioxin is a "human carcinogen." The report notes that emissions of dioxin have plummeted from their peak levels in the 1970s but still pose a significant cancer threat to some people who ingest the chemical through foods in a normal diet. Dioxin comes from both natural and industrial sources, such as medical and municipal waste incineration and paper-pulp production. The chemical enters the food chain when animals eat contaminated plants. Dioxin then accumulates in the fat of mammals and fish. It has been linked to several cancers in humans, including lymphomas and lung cancer. For a small segment of the population who eat large amounts of fatty foods, such as meats and dairy products that are relatively high in dioxins, the odds of developing cancer could be as high as 1 in 100, the report says. That estimate places the risk 10 times as high as the EPA's previous projections. Exposure to dioxin occurs over a lifetime, and the danger is cumulative, the report said. WIDE-RANGING EFFECTS The report, obtained by The Washington Post, links low-grade exposure to dioxin to a wide array of other health problems, including diabetes as well as developmental defects in babies and children. It also concludes that children's dioxin intake is proportionally much higher than adults' because of the presence of the chemical in dairy products and even breast milk. "It's the Darth Vader of toxic chemicals because it affects so many systems [of the body]," said Richard Clapp, a cancer epidemiologist at Boston University's School of Public Health. "The amounts are coming down, but even small amounts are harmful." The EPA's draft assessment, if finalized in its current form, would solidify dioxin's status as one of the most potent chemical toxins known to science. Although the risk from dioxin varies widely and may be nearly zero for many people the findings suggest that dioxin already contributes to a significant number of cancer deaths each year. Environmentalists, extrapolating from the EPA's risk findings, have estimated that about 100 of the roughly 1,400 cancer deaths occurring daily in the United States are attributable to dioxin. Officials predicted yesterday that the report would stimulate many questions about the safety of the food supply. Administration officials said, however, that the higher dioxin risks should not discourage people from eating nutritious foods and following dietary guidelines emphasizing low-fat foods. The report stressed that mothers should continue to breast-feed because the benefits far outweigh the risk of dioxin exposure. In an indication of the potentially far-reaching implications of the report, the White House has intervened in an unusual way to coordinate its release. The report is scheduled to be released in June and will be evaluated by scientific reviewers. It's not clear that the findings will lead to new regulations on dioxin emissions, but EPA briefing papers discussed several strategies for reducing human exposure to the chemical, including better monitoring. How do you know which substances to avoid? Toxic chemicals with particularly powerful effects include heavy metals, organic solvents and pesticides. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as dioxin, PCBs and phthalates -- substances that leach out of plastic packaging and wraps -- may also be harmful to your health. Source: Generations at Risk DECREASING EMISSIONS The findings came as a surprise even to EPA policymakers who have tracked slowly falling levels of dioxin in the environment the result of a series of tough new regulations on dioxin-emitting industries. The EPA said industrial emissions of dioxins have been reduced some 80 percent between 1987 and 1995. "We're heading in the right direction because we're seeing dioxin levels decrease," said one administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. But while dioxin levels in the population are declining, "our ability to understand the risk has improved," the official said. Dioxin came to public attention as the contaminant in Agent Orange, a controversial herbicide used by U.S. forces in Vietnam. In 1983, the EPA forced the evacuation and demolition of the entire town of Times Beach, Mo. , after the discovering of dioxin contamination on city streets. Industry scientists have long accused the EPA of overstating the threat from dioxin, and many believed the agency's review would result in a downgrading of the official risk estimate. Kip Howlett, vice president and executive director of the Chlorine Chemistry Council, said the EPA has a conservative view of the health risks of dioxin and they are "out of sync" with the rest of the world's view on safe levels of the chemical. Howlett said the agency "has a real problem on its hands" in expressing apocalyptic concern about dioxin, while also stressing that the food supply is safe, breast feeding is the right thing to do and regulatory initiatives are working. "There are a lot of things in this report that are counterintuitive to what the facts are," Howlett said. Keith Holman, chief regulatory counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said no industry wants to produce dioxin which is an unintended by-product of combustion "but let's make sure we have sound science before we regulate down to a zero level where it's clearly not warranted." Environmentalists supported the EPA's findings but raised concerns that the agency would use falling dioxin levels as an excuse to delay any further tightening of regulations to control dioxins. "They seem to be taking a triage approach, not worrying about emissions but dietary exposures of human beings," said Rick Hind of Greenpeace International's toxics program. "That suggests they can't walk and chew gun at the same time." A HUMAN CARCINOGEN The agency's understanding of dioxin has improved since the agency began in-depth studies in 1991, and this installment is particularly important because it includes results of landmark human epidemiological studies from Europe and the United States. In a briefing to EPA managers on May 10, the agency said it expected "many stakeholders to take dramatic action when the draft reassessment is released," and pressure from other interests given the "extraordinary" findings of the reassessment. For the first time, the agency's draft report classifies the most potent form of dioxin 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) as a "human carcinogen," a step above the previous ranking of "probable carcinogen." More than 100 other dioxin-like compounds were classified as "likely" human carcinogens. Over the past five years, the EPA has imposed regulations on major dioxin emitters, including municipal waste combustors, medical waste incinerators, hazardous waste incinerators, cement kilns that burn hazardous waste, pulp and paper operations, and sources of PCBs. When those regulations become fully effective over the next few years, the agency expects further declines of dioxin levels. "We still have a certain amount of dioxin circulating in the environment. We need to focus on the idea of reducing exposure and not simply going after all sources to the environment," said one administration official. TARGETING SOURCES One source likely to be targeted is uncontrolled residential waste burning, such as burning trash in back yards, particularly in rural areas, EPA briefing papers said. Such burning is "one of the largest unaddressed dioxin sources and one that could have a disproportionally large contribution to the food supply." The agency also is discussing the possible regulation of other sources such as sludge disposal from privately owned waste-treatment facilities and the regulation of other air sources of pollution. Sources said that there have been lengthy discussions at the EPA on how to release the report and answer questions stemming from it. Several federal agencies have been involved in the preparation of the report and are expected to participate in the review of it. Agencies such as the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the Food Safety Council, are readying their own responses to questions about the safety of the food supply, advice on following the dietary guidelines and breast feeding. "People were not expecting this was an issue they had to deal with," an administration official said. "Over the last eight years there have been regulations that have already cut dioxin emissions from the most likely sources." It's the Darth Vader of toxic chemicals because it affects so many systems [of the body]. The amounts are coming down, but even small amounts are harmful.' RICHARD CLAPP Boston University epidemiologist Photo: Environmental workers clean up a dioxin spill in Virginia. ========================= Here is the final text of the sign on letter. NYT Newspaper Ad was written later. ============================== Dear President Clinton and Vice President Gore The weight of scientific evidence requires immediate executive action to address human contamination by dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known to science. According to leaked EPA documents, "Part of the general population is at or near exposure levels where adverse effects can be anticipated." Dioxin causes cancer. Dioxin is associated with learning disabilities, birth defects, endometriosis, diabetes and immune system suppression. Dioxin is now present in the bloodstream of every American. It contaminates food and mother's milk according to leaked EPA documents. "Air deposition onto plants consumed by domestic meat and dairy animals is the principle route for contamination of commercial food supply." Our food should be pure. Mother's milk should be held sacred. Society should be spared the costs and consequences of resorting to artificial feeding methods which produce more waste and should instead concentrate on making our world free of dioxin contamination. Decades of regulations that focused on limiting dioxin have not made our food safe. It is immoral to suggest that the appropriate response to this crisis is for Americans to alter their diet. Farmers, ranchers, fishermen, food producers and consumers should not bear the economic and human health costs of industrial recklessness. A mother's confidence in the benefits of breastfeeding an infant should be celebrated, not compromised. We need to stop blaming the victim. Low income and communities of color are further victimized. Dioxin emitting facilities are disproportionately located in their communities, adding even more dioxin to these already impacted people. The indigineous people of the Arctic also carry an heavy burden of dioxin from the food they eat, which is contaminated by dioxins from facilities thousands of miles away. These environmental injustices must end. The burden to change falls squarely on the industries that are poisoning our food. Our government must move swiftly to focus national attention and debate where it belongs; on the known sources of dioxin and the means of eliminating them. EPA should recognize the positive impact of their bans on lead in gasoline and on PCBs and take similar action for major industrial sources of dioxin which include incineration, pulp & paper production, PVC plastic production, use and disposal. To reassure the public, EPA points to evidence of declining dioxin emissions. Declines in dioxin are a direct result of more than a decade of citizen activism to shut down incinerators, reduce the use of pesticides and PVC plastics, and strengthen paper industry regulations. And in each case, these initiatives have been vigorously resisted by the responsible polluting industries, and frequently by the EPA. This has resulted in reckless delays, and needlessly elevated levels of historical contamination that now burden us. There is no safe level of dioxin. The virtual elimination of dioxin is possible. Therefore, the scientific evidence, logic and morality demand that the White House convene an Emergency Task Force to develop a Dioxin Elimination Strategy that initially: 1) Reviews internal policies of all federal agencies to ensure that they are consistent with EPA's findings, and that they do not promote,support or condone sources of dioxin. While the review takes place, the EPA should not issue or renew any permits for facilities releasing dioxin into the environment. 2) Presses the EPA to finalize and release the dioxin assessment as quickly as possible and to take all actions to stop dioxin at the source. 3) Instructs U.S. officials now negotiating an international treaty on dioxin and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to press for strong provisions with the goal of elimination. ======================== ======================== Jacksonville, Duval County #1 ......In Lung Cancer...in the entire U.S. Jacksonville was also a major incinerator of PCBs which turned into cancer causing dioxin.... Re: Times-Union Article on Lung Cancer Jacksonville Florida has the highest lung cancer rate in the ENTIRE U.S. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/052900/ met_3177520.html Cancer Factors: The three cancer factors studied by Dr. Phyllis Tousey, are all related to dioxin and related endocrine disrupters-gene damagers: 1. High rates of cigarette smoking (cigarettes form dioxin when burned) 2. High fat diets (without regular detoxing) (Note that dioxins collect in animal fat and are passed up the food chain) 3. Family members with lung cancer increase one's chance of developing lung cancer. (Once dioxin and related endocrine disrupters suppress our P450 detox endocrine system, additional gene damaging chemicals build up in the body. Then further gene damage is done and is passed on to the next generation.) All of the above was pointed out to Dr. Tousey by yours truly.....she was excited to test patients for dioxin until the management of St. Vincent's Hospital (where she had an office) and the Jax City Council boxed her ears and sent her back to her office with her tail between her legs....St. Vincents Hospital has an incinerator which makes dioxin and other endocrine disrupters. By the way, your household cost for dioxin induced diseases, including ADD/ADHD is approximately $3,500 per years. Main Pages: | Endocrine Disruption Briefing Book | | Attachment List, ED Briefing Book | Attachment Pages: | ADD/ADHD | | Children-Developmental Damage | | Symptoms, Physical-Cognitive | | Diabetes | | Porphyria-LiverSpots | | Porphyria-Suppressed Detox | | Thyroid Disruptions | | Cancer, et al | | Cancer, et al | | Bethune School Dioxin | | Whitehouse School Scandal | | Belgium Govt. Topples | | 314 Toxic Chemicals | | 3700 Porphyrinogenic Chemicals | | Professional Dioxin Reports | | Industry View Dioxin | | Dust Carries Toxics-Dioxin | Cost Estimates, For Medical & Social Problems: | 5 most costly dioxin diseases Overview | Additional Overview Info: | PCB Toxicity by CDC | | 48% Graduation Rate Jax FL | | EDSTAC | Send questions to: | [email protected] | | [email protected] | |