Cancer: Tasmania’s highest rate

Dr Alison Bleaney
THE AIHW now lists Tasmania (Report Dec 2008) as having the highest rate of cancer (excluding skin cancers) in Australia; 433 / 100,000 people, age standardised. These statistics are for 2001-2005.

The incidence of cancer has increased by more than 35% in the last 10 years.

Prostate cancer, breast cancer, bowel cancer and lung cancer are those with the highest rates.

For a ‘clean and green’ State with a ‘clever, kind and connected’ front, this is indeed shocking.
The join-the-dots approach to the causes of cancer mean that environmental toxins should be present on the list of ‘cancer nasties’ that do also include the well known carcinogens alcohol and smoking (both account for less than 15% of cancers). Smoking rates do not solely explain these figures. That the government blames smoking for these cancer rates with no reference to environmental toxins is shameful and clutching at straws. Immune modulators and endocrine disrupting chemicals are increasingly regarded as cancer promoters in the international scientific world of toxicology. Environmental-genetic interactions are being increasingly discovered with new technology; the hypothesis has been there for many decades.

The need to have access to non-polluted raw drinking water and pesticide free food is more important than ever.

The need for a syndemic approach to cancer aetiology and preventative action is crucial .

Prevention is a must if only for financial reasons. A stance needs to be taken by our regulator in public health and the word spread by the cancer councils, schools, health professionals and all who care for our next generations.

An example of the legacy of a complacent approach is that of asbestos, with the effects from the known dangers already with us and about to hit even harder with the incidence of mesethelioma set to increase in the next decade. The lessons are there to be learnt, if society is prepared to heed them and demand action from our regulators.

And

Public Notice (below)in Mercury, Examiner and Advocate on 20-12-2008

PESTICIDE DATA COLLECTION (20th December 2008)

For many years Tasmanians have benefited from a clean, green environment. The benefits to the public and the image portrayed are being threatened by the increasing number of harmful chemicals being found in the State’s water supplies and environment.

Of particular concern is the increase in Forestry and Agriculture pesticide detections.

Tasmanian Government Agencies responsible for the regulation and management of pesticides are failing to prevent contamination from these chemicals.

Many concerned local groups are unable to monitor or improve this situation in their areas as the government has made it impossible to access information on the States pesticide usage.

The Break O’ Day Catchment Risk Group is compiling a data base of pesticide usage in Tasmania to ensure informed debate on this important issue.

We ask any concerned members of the public with information on pesticide usage it the State to help support this worthy cause.

Information may include spraying notifications, general information, adverse effects and positive results etc.

Please direct correspondence and or contact details to the

Break O’ Day Catchment Risk Group

PO Box 222, St Helens TAS 7216

And

** EU deal on new pesticide controls **
Euro MPs make tighter controls on pesticides probable next year after hammering out a deal with member states.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/7791363.stm

And

For Immediate Release- December 18, 2008
New Figures Detail Logging Giant’s Vast Herbicide Use

Over 770,000 pounds of chemicals used by Sierra Pacific Industries since 1995.
Some toxins linked to ovaries in male frogs.
Statistics released today by international environmental group ForestEthics show for the first time the total quantity and variety of toxic herbicides used by Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) as part of their controversial logging practices.
The groundbreaking data, compiled between 1995 and 2006, reveal that California’s largest forest destroyer has used over 770,000 pounds of toxic chemicals to manage their tree plantations across Northern California. The questionable safety of these chemicals, and the sheer quantity used in the watersheds of California’s rivers and streams, raises questions about whether SPI is using as a crutch toxics typically prescribed as a last resort.
“The evidence for pesticides acting as endocrine disruptors affecting everything from sexual development, to immune function, to cancer is increasing and is no longer simply a hypothesis,” said Professor Tyron Hayes of the Department of Integrative Biology at Berkeley and an expert on
Atrazine. “The task now is to figure out exactly what and how much humans
and wildlife are exposed to and assess the relative risks to environmental health and public health.”
One of the toxins detailed in the report, atrazine, was the second most frequently detected pesticide in EPA’s National Survey of pesticides in drinking water wells. Studies have shown that at levels 1/30th of what the EPA allows in drinking water, atrazine can cause male frogs to grow ovaries.
There is also suspicion it is the cause of male fish in the Potomic River growing eggs. Our records find SPI has used over 91,450 pounds of atrazine.
Its use is banned by the European Union.
Imazapyr is also used by SPI in their forestry practices. It has been shown to increase the number of brain and thyroid cancers in male rats and can be persistent in the soil for up to a year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has gone on record stating it is a threat to endangered species in 24 states east of the Mississippi River. SPI has used almost 31,000 pounds of this chemical in the state.
“Scientific work has shown that even trace amounts of common herbicides such as atrazine have deleterious ecological effects when present in streams and lakes,” said Don Erman, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis and the Science Team Leader of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project.
“Pesticides show up in some of our most pristine watersheds, and forestry practices increasingly rely on herbicides in management after logging and fire. Individual citizens, watershed groups and others need information on what, where and when herbicides are being applied to forestlands.”
SPI is already facing scrutiny from concerned citizens due to its persistent use of destructive logging practices such as clearcutting and the conversion of natural forests to tree plantations. Their heavy reliance on toxics in everyday management is yet another example of a business model that is viewed as controversial and outdated.
“For years I have witnessed the devastation caused by timber companies as they clearcut forests in Shasta County, replacing forests with sterile tree plantations and eviscerating habitat for wildlife,” said Sue Lynn of Montgomery Creek, a small town 36 miles outside Redding. “The astounding quantities of herbicide being sprayed in our forests outrages me. They do not have the right to poison the land and the watersheds that provide drinking water for Californians.”
The process of compiling this information took over half a year of sorting through data from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR).
By California law, all commercial herbicide use must be reported including the time, location and quantity of each application.
ForestEthics’ “Save the Sierra” campaign is working to transform the destructive logging practices of California’s largest landowner, Sierra Pacific Industries. Since 1995, SPI has clearcut or converted to plantation over a quarter of a million acres of natural forests, with plans for up to a million acres within the next fifty years. Though the Sierra is home to half of California’s plants and animals and the source of 60% of our drinking water, SPI continues to ruin this natural treasure with its destructive practices.
ForestEthics, a nonprofit with staff in Canada, the United States and Chile, recognizes that individual people can be mobilized to create positive environmental change-and so can corporations. Armed with this unique philosophy, ForestEthics has helped protect more than sixty-five million acres of Endangered Forests. Visit www.forestethics.org, for more
information. # # #

And

Download: FLUORIDE_INFORMATION_FLYER_-_THE_TRUTH_-_WHAT_THE_MEDIA_WONT_TELL_YOU.pdf

And

***PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 18 2008***

CHEMICAL CASTRATING HERBICIDE USED IN SWIMMING POOLS

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH CALLS FOR BANS ON SIMAZINE IN SWIMMING POOLS AND MORE RESEARCH INTO SWIMMING POOL CHEMICALS

Friends
of the Earth Australia today called for bans on the use of Simazine in
swimming pools in Australia. Simazine is a herbicide, registered for
use by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Association
(APVMA) for a number of uses including swimming pools. Simazine also
kills algae in swimming pools, dams, troughs, ponds and freshwater
aquariums. The US EPA banned the use of Simazine in swimming pools in
the United States in 1994.

Friends of the Earth Australia
researcher Anthony Amis said; “It is deeply disturbing that Simazine is
still registered for use in swimming pools in Australia. A US EPA risk
assessment 14 years ago concluded that water treated with simazine
algaecides represented an unacceptable cancer and non-cancer health
risk to children and adults. Simazine hasn’t been allowed in swimming
pools in the U.S. since 1994, yet it still remains registered in
Australia.”

“Our organisation also has problems with several
other chemicals used in the swimming pool industry in Australia. We
believe that the Regulatory Bodies need to take a closer look at this
industry” said Mr Amis. “At this time however, Friends of the Earth is
particularly concerned about Simazine”.

Friends of the Earth has
identified 6 companies including simazine as swimming pool algaecides
in Australia. Chemtura Australia Pty Ltd, Greenfield Industries Pty
Ltd, Pool and Spa Poppits Pty Ltd, Poolgard Pty Ltd, Wobelea Pty Ltd
and Price Chemicals Pty Ltd. “Simazine would not be the major
algaecide used in swimming pools in Australia, so not all pools are
treated with it. There are alternatives” Mr Amis stated.

“From
our research it also appears that once added to swimming pools,
simazine levels could remain at between 10 and 20 parts per billion
(ppb) every day over a 3 month period” said Mr Amis. Simazine at such
levels could be placing anyone swimming in these pools at risk. The
risk will increase in regards to children, as children may use swimming
pools for longer periods of time, they may ingest greater volumes of
water and have a lower weight ratio. We also have concerns regarding
uptake of simazine via skin absorption and the impact of pregnant women
swimming in simazine treated water.” said Mr Amis. “Studies overseas
have suggested that children in swimming pools can ingest ~50ml of
swimming pool water per hour”.

“The Australian Drinking Water
Guidelines state that the health limit for Simazine is 20 parts per
billion (ppb), whilst the Guideline limit is 0.5 ppb. What this means
that in a domestic water supply for intance, if simazine was detected
at 0.5 ppb, the water authority theoretically has to determine the
source of the pollution in order to stop this pollution occurring
again. Yet Australian regulators allow limits much higher than the
Drinking Water Guideline Level in swimming pools where the water can be
ingested by people at levels which would breach the Australian Drinking
Water Guidelines. There are also no standards in Australia for
recreational levels of Simazine. If a river was polluted with Simazine
at 20 parts per billion and people were swimming in it there would be a
public outcry” said Mr Amis. “Yet regulators allow the public to be
exposed to Simazine at these levels in swimming pools”.

According
to Tasmanian GP Dr Alison Bleaney “Simazine works by disrupting our
hormone (endocrine) and enzyme systems and allowing other chemicals to
act and pre-set our bodies for some illnesses and cancers. The type and
severity of the effects depends on the time that they affect us but
especially when in utero or as a child.
Hormone disruptors work at
extremely low concentrations. They also upset our immune system and are
very strong skin sensitisers i.e. are allergenic, and alter the
functioning of our genes i.e. cause epigenetic changes.

Atrazine
and simazine are among the strongest of the environmental oestrogens
(EO), which are also strong allergy modifiers, and the effects of EO’s
are additive. Atrazine and simazine have been shown to cause chemical
castration of male frogs and other animals at 0.1 ppb, by induction of
an enzyme (aromatase) which changes testosterone into oestrogen. The
hormones in frogs are identical to those in humans. The effects are
apparent in the next 2 generations, even when only the
pregnant mother was exposed to these chemicals.

Immune
dysfunction can be a factor in illnesses such as
allergies,asthma,auto-immunediseases,neurodegenerative diseases
(Parkinson’s disease) and cancers. The total
biological effects of
these and other toxic herbicides on all the animals in our ecosystems
including humans have not been fully investigated let alone
quantified.” concluded Ms Bleaney.

“Why on earth is this product
still allowed to be registered when there are alternatives. We urge
consumers to avoid the use of simazine in swimming pools and to teach
their children not to swallow swimming pool water” concluded Mr Amis.

For further information contact:

Anthony Amis: (03) 9419 8700 or (03 )9830 6164 anthonyamis@hotmail.com
Dr Alison Bleaney: 0417 302 545

List of Simazine Products Registered in Australia
http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au/1/Issues&Problems/Docs/simazineproducts.pdf

History of use of Simazine in US;
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/89745a330d4ef8b9852572a000651fe1/4dcd5593153b4de78525646d00778986!OpenDocument

A list of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals can be found here;
http://www.awwa.org/Resources/topicspecific.cfm?ItemNumber=3647&navItemNumber=1580