Public deprived of data on cancer links to toxins

[kmar]

.

Public deprived of data on cancer links to toxins - News - The Ecologist



Public deprived of data on cancer links to toxins - film maker

Director of 'The Idiot Cycle' claims people are being kept in the dark over the dangers posed by toxins in everyday life - and questions the murky links between UN, WHO and chemical companies

Links between chemical companies and institutions like the WHO and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) are depriving consumers of independent information on cancer risks, film maker Emmanuelle Schick Garcia has claimed.

In an exclusive interview with The Ecologist, Schick Garcia, director of 'The Idiot Cycle' - a major expose on the chemical industry - said ‘subtle’ conflicts of interest, such as a Bayer Cropscience consultant sitting on an IARC advisory group while also chairing one on benzene research for the American Petroleum Institute, made it difficult for people to trust their advice.

The petroleum sector is one of the largest emitters of benzene, a known carcinogen.

‘The United States has yet to classify formaldeyde as a carcinogen. Why? Koch Industries, which is a huge producer of formaldeyde in the United States, lobbied to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from classifying it as such. The company is run by two brothers, and they've donated millions to Sloan-Kettering, MIT Cancer research, John Hopkins University... and in 2004 Koch was named to the National Cancer Advisory Board (part of the National Cancer Institute).

‘So all these 'public' entities are receiving very large donations from one of America's biggest carcinogen polluters,’ she said.

Pollution pays

The outspoken film maker also said chemical companies were benefiting from cleaning up environmental damage rather than avoiding it in the first place.

‘Take the environmental "cleaning" industry. Many [sic] of the contamination is being cleaned up by the same companies (with public money) that created the contamination in the first place (because they didn't do sufficient testing before unleashing their chemical, asbestos, etc.). So corporations profit twice.

‘It's idiotic that we keep letting this go on. Same cycles, different products,’ she said.

Schick Garcia urges people wanting to avoid exposure to chemicals in their everyday life to become self-sufficient and not rely on cleaning agents, even products labelled as 'natural' or 'organic'.

Cancer Research UK responded to the claims by stating that the links between chemicals and cancer were difficult to evaluate.

‘There is clear evidence that some things in our environment can cause cancer, including second-hand smoke, ultraviolet radiation, asbestos, radon gas and various industrial chemicals,’ said Professor David Phillips, Cancer Research UK's environmental carcinogen expert.

However, he cautioned against concern about all chemicals classified as ‘possibly or probably carcinogenic’ to humans, saying this did not tell us how much risk the public face.

‘To do this is a much more complicated process that has to take into account who is exposed, how, when and by how much,’ said Professor Phillips.


.

[kmar]

.

READ MORE...
INTERVIEW

Emmanuelle Garcia :
Chemical companies want the public to feel helpless and not protest

Emmanuelle Schick Garcia is the director of 'The Idiot Cycle', a new film exposing the chemical industry and how it benefits from the contamination it is causing

NEWS
Non-stick pans can affect our hormones, new research suggests

Norwegian study highlights the effects of PFC and PCB chemicals on human health

GREEN LIVING
Can I trust my 'natural' or 'organic' body cream?

What does it take for a company producing skincare or haircare products to be truly 'natural' or 'organic'? Laura Sevier sorts fact from fiction in the health and beauty stakes

GREEN LIVING
Storing food safely in plastic containers

There are certain rules of thumb when it comes to storing, freezing and heating food in plastic containers. Read on to find out how to use plastics safely

NEWS
US Cancer Institute issues stark warning on environmental cancer risk

A leading US research body has said the range of confirmed or suspected carcinogens to which we are exposed on a daily basis is cause for serious concern, but UK campaign groups refuse to change their views



.
Public deprived of data on cancer links to toxins - News - The Ecologist