Pesticide linked to breast cancer
January 29, 2005
PESTICIDES used on tobacco crops in northeastern Victoria since the 1940s have been linked to high rates of breast cancer, sparking fears for the 48,000 women in the area.
Researchers at Monash University have found the Ovens and Murray Shire has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Victoria and they believe many of the women who live there may have been exposed to organochlorine pesticides – chemicals still used today.
The use of organochlorine pesticides was at its peak on the tobacco farms of northeastern Victoria during the 1940s and 50s.
While the chemicals were banned in the US in the 1970s, Victoria did not begin phasing them out until early last decade, and some from the organochlorine group are still in use.
Researcher Narges Khanjani said the study was based on samples of contaminated breast milk collected in the 90s and data provided by the Cancer Council of Victoria.
“We used the 800 milk samples to identify areas of high contamination in Victoria and compared it to the cancer data,” Dr Khanjani said.
“We found that the Ovens and Murray Shire was the most highly contaminated region, as it showed the highest incidences of breast cancer compared with any other area in Victoria,” Dr Khanjani said.
She said the average number of women to have breast cancer in an area of that population size was 700, but in the Ovens and Murray Shire between 1980 and 2002 at least 815 had breast cancer.
“Because this is the only region in Victoria to grow tobacco, the number of women possibly exposed is much higher here than anywhere else in the state,” Dr Khanjani said.
“Although women traditionally don’t work in the fields, they have been exposed to the chemicals which have contaminated the food chain and have been unknowingly consumed in produce such as meat, milk and eggs.
“Once organochlorines are absorbed into the body, they are not easily secreted or broken down and are stored in fat tissue such as breast fat.”
The team was concerned by the findings and wanted to do further research.
“If we can be sure that these chemicals are linked to breast cancer, then we would be lobbying hard for the use of the ones still in circulation to be heavily restricted,” Dr Khanjani said.
But it was not feasible to ban the chemicals, because of their usefulness in pest control.
source: The Australian