Toxins pose risks

[Guest guest]

My thoughts on this:

1) This sounds bad, but even though it seems an alarm is sounding, nothing ever really seems to change, does it?

2) Media ALWAYS downplays the real risks! It probably really is worse than we think! We have to take determined steps to protect ourselves!

Toxins pose risks for many in U.S. Two-thirds of Americans face elevated cancer riskhttp://www.msnbc.com/news/760210.aspASSOCIATED PRESSWASHINGTON, May 31 — At least two-thirds of Americans live in areas wheretoxic chemicals pose an elevated cancer risk, an Environmental ProtectionAgency analysis concluded Friday.THE FINDINGS are contained in a long-awaited EPA assessment of health risksfrom 32 toxic chemicals. The study is based on 1996 emissions data that hasbeen the subject of several years of internal analysis.The assessment concludes that the accumulated exposure to the various toxicchemicals can be expected to cause 10 additional cancers over a lifetime ofexposure for every 1 million people, or a 10 in 1 million cancer risk. Theserisks can be found across virtually the entire country, said the study,which was reviewed by outside scientists.10 IN A MILLION RISK“More than 200 million people live in census tracts where the combined upper bound lifetime cancer risk from these (chemical) compounds exceeded 10 in 1 million risk,” said the study. It added that 20 million people live in areas where the risks are even higher — a risk of 100 additional lifetime cancers for every 1 million people.“The risks are very much in line with what we expected all along,” said Holmstead, head of the EPA’s air office. He said in an interview therisks of cancer from toxic chemical exposure “are very, very small,”compared with overall cancer risks from all sources.The EPA considers a cancer risk of 1 in a million or greater as a matter ofconcern, although those levels do not always trigger regulatory actions.Holmstead said the report was “designed to be a baseline” for furtherstudies on risks posed by air toxins. He also emphasized the findings arebased on 1996 data. “Since that time, the risks already have been reducedsignificantly,” said Holmstead in an interview.But environmentalists said the study’s findings provide clear evidences thattougher measures are needed to reduce releases of toxic chemicals — such asbenzene, mercury, formaldehyde and other carcinogens — from automobiles,power plants and industrial sources.They show “a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the levelconsidered acceptable by the EPA,” said Figdor of the U.S. PublicInterest Research Group.‘WAKE-UP CALL’“These findings are a wake-up call that EPA should take action to reducethis long overlooked public health threat” from toxic air releases, arguedFigdor.Among the study’s conclusions is that automobiles and trucks contributesubstantially to the public’s exposure to cancer-causing air toxins.It estimated that 100 million people live in areas where motor vehicles —both on and off-road — account for an additional lifetime cancer risk of atleast 10 in a million.These risks are largely the result of exposure to such chemicals as benzene,formaldehyde and butadiene — all components of motor fuels.The study also concluded that toxic chemicals pose a significant healthhazard other than cancer to much of the U.S. population, especially problemswith respiratory systems.The report said the assessment was viewed as a “snapshot” that identifiesthe greatest health risks from toxic chemicals and the areas of mostpotential concern. It said the EPA will update the assessment with anotherreport next year.The authors of the internal EPA analysis cautioned that the risk analysiswas subject to limitations “due to gaps in data or in the state of thescience for assessing risk.”In some cases the shortcomings may have understated the risks, the authorssuggested. For example, the study did not attempt to assess various dioxincompounds “that may contribute substantially to (cancer) risks,” they wrote.In addition, the study noted, the EPA is reassessing the health effects ofthe 32 toxic chemicals that were studied and that reassessment could show an increase in the overall risks that the chemicals pose.