National Cancer Panel's Report on Environmental Exposures

I tend to be a fairly moderate person and don't react too strongly to things like carcinogens and the like, given that our power to do much about it is soooooo small.  The best we can do is try to avoid taking in too many known carcinogens from our food and our care products, and our home.  For that information, I rely on the works of EWG, which researches environmental health risks and produces consumer-friendly reports.  That having been said, nothing makes me more paranoid than I have ever felt in my life like the readings from my Environmental and Occupational Health class, like this President's Cancer Panel Report on environmental cancer exposure.

In their opening letter, authors Lafalle and Kripke write,

"Most also are unaware that children are far more vulnerable to environmental toxins and radiation than adults. Efforts to inform the public of such harmful exposures and how to prevent them must be increased. All levels of government, from federal to local, must work to protect every American from needless disease through rigorous regulation of environmental pollutants.

Environmental exposures that increase the national cancer burden do not represent a new front in the ongoing war on cancer. However, the grievous harm from this group of carcinogens has not been addressed adequately by the National Cancer Program. The American people—even before they are born—are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures. The Panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation’s productivity, and devastate American lives."

Yikes.  Until then, it's on us.