The 12th Report on Carcinogens released by US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) on 10 June 2011 reveals 8 more carcinogenic substances to worry about.
Two Are Already Known
Two of these are already known, i.e. Aristolochic acids that are found in herbal products for treatment of arthritis, inflammation and gout. There was a warning about this compound in 2001 by the FDA, but herbal products continued to be sold and bought over the Internet.
Aristolochic acids have been found to cause high rates of upper urinary and bladder cancer. They are found in herbal products, because these are compounds normally found in certain plant species used for medicinal purposes.
The second known carcinogen is formaldehyde. This was listed in the 2nd Report on Carcinogens of USDHHS. Exposure to this compound is known to cause rare cancers such as cancer of upper part throat, sino-nasal and white blood cancer. This compound is used in mortuaries, laboratories and even some hair products.
6 More Added
The 6 carcinogens added in the 12th report are:
1. Captafol – this is a fungicide used normally for treating fungal diseases on vegetables, fruits, grass, and ornamental plants. Banned in the USA 1999, it continues to affect health.
2. Cobalt-Tungsten carbide – whether in powder of metal form this compound is known to cause lung cancer. This is normally used while making grinding tools or water-resistant products, as well as gas drilling/ mining equipment.
3. Glass wool – the glass wool that are bio-persistent and capable of entering the respiratory track are known to cause lung cancer.
4. o-Nitrotoluene - this is a compound used in dyes for cotton, paper, silk and leather. It is also used in manufacturing ammunition, rubber chemicals, petrochemicals, and agricultural chemicals among others.
5. Riddelliine – this is a compound often found in herbal tea, foods and even honey that have used Senecio plants’ extracts. This compound is known to cause cancer of blood.
6. Styrene – this is a compound used in the manufacturing process of plastic, pipes, rubber, insulation, automobile parts, food containers, among others. However, the highest exposure to this compound is through cigarette smoking.
The list of these 8 carcinogens was prepared by National Institute of Environmental Health Science under the National Toxicology Program , which was established for this purpose in 1978. Director of NTP Office of the Report on Carcinogens, Dr Ruth Lunn said, “The strength of this report lies in the rigorous scientific review process”.
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