The link between exposure to everyday chemicals and cancer risk has been 'grossly underestimated' according to the National Cancer Institute in the US.
The Institute, which advises the US President, has previously focused on better-known causes of cancer such as diet and smoking.
However, its latest report, published this month, urges the US Administration to identify and eliminate environmental carcinogens from workplaces, schools and homes. It estimates there are nearly 80,000 'largely unregulated' chemicals on the market.
The report lists a variety of carcinogenic compounds that many people are regularly exposed to in their daily lives, including benzene and other petroleum-based pollutants in vehicle exhaust, arsenic in water supplies, chromium from plating, formaldehyde in kitchen cabinets and other plywood, bisphenol A in plastics and canned foods and tetrachloroethylene at dry cleaners.
It said bisphenol A (BPA) in particular had been linked to several diseases, including various cancers, but was still unregulated in the US and is found in many consumer products.
'With the growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the unacceptable burden of cancer resulting from environmental and occupational exposures that could have been prevented through appropriate national action,' concluded the report.
UK campaign groups not convinced
UK cancer researchers said there was still a lack of evidence about most environmental risks.
'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. But for many other potential risks, the evidence of the health harms in humans is still inconsistent,' said Ed Yong, head of health information at Cancer Research UK
'For example, the evidence that bisphenol A could affect the risk of breast cancer in humans is limited although studies in animals or cell cultures have raised some concerns.
Yong said until the evidence became clearer, Cancer Research UK would focus its efforts on promoting established ways of reducing the risk of cancer.
Useful links
President's Cancer Panel report
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