Studies of indoor air and household dust show that we are exposed to a daily mix of synthetic chemicals in the home. This chemical mix comes from the air outside, from building materials and furniture, from our possessions and the products we use.
In this section of the web site, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation provides you with information about sources of chemical exposure in the home and how they may be linked to breast cancer risk, and with practical tips on how to limit your chemical exposure in food, plastics, and products for personal care, the household, and for children.
Research on the links between chemical exposure and human health is a complex and growing body of knowledge. It suggests that low-level chemical exposures in our environment may cause unintended changes in our bodies, including disruptions in the hormonal system, early puberty or altered mammary gland development—factors known as triggers for human breast cancer.
As consumers we have the right to know what is in the products we use and, more importantly, if they may be harmful to our health. This knowledge would help us to make informed choices about the products we buy.
More research is needed to better understand the links between chemical exposures and the development of breast cancer. The Foundation supports the use of a precautionary approach as a way to apply evolving breast cancer prevention evidence in our daily lives. By following the precautionary principle in your life, when scientific evidence is inconclusive you put your health first and err on the side of caution..
It means choosing to take action now to limit your exposure to toxic chemicals in food, plastics, and products for personal care, the household, and for children.
Food
The food we eat can be the biggest source of our daily exposure to environmental toxins. By being aware of what we eat and drink, we can go a long way to reducing our chemical exposures:
Wash your fruit and vegetables well to remove pesticide traces.
Try to buy local, pesticide-free or fully organic food.
Look for hormone-free meat and dairy products.
Look for “BPA-free” canned food.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is used in the plastic lining of metal cans to prevent corrosion. It is a known
hormone disruptor and may leach from the can into the food inside. If you cannot find BPA-free canned food, eat fresh or frozen rather than canned.
Choose drinks in glass bottles or BPA-free plastics instead of cans, which are lined with BPA. Carry water in stainless steel, glass, or BPA-free containers to reduce exposure to hormone-disruptors that may leach into the water.
Plastics
Chemical contaminants are released into the environment when plastics are made, as they are used and discarded, and when they are destroyed by incineration. Concern has been raised about the possible health and environmental effects of commonly used plastics. You can reduce your risk by reducing your household’s chemical exposure to known carcinogens and hormone disruptor:
Learn what the recycling codes on plastics mean and try to avoid #3 (PVC), #6 (polystyrene) and # 7 (polycarbonate), chemicals that are associated with breast cancer risk.
Avoid using water bottles, drinking cups and food containers made with polycarbonate, BPA or polystyrene (Styrofoam).
Use ceramic or glass containers, instead of plastic, to microwave food to prevent leaching from the container to your food.
Personal care products and cosmetics
Think of your daily routine and the personal care products and cosmetics you use. What is applied to the body is also absorbed by the body—and may influence our risk of disease, including breast cancer. Some of the ingredients of concern are phthalates, parabens, alkylphenols, fragrance or parfum and placental extracts.
Here’s how changes in your daily personal care can help to limit your chemical exposure:
Use fewer or simpler products.
Read the label and avoid products with “parfum” or “fragrance.”
Beware of claims that a product is organic or natural: read the label to find out what’s really in it.
Household products
Some of the products we use to clean and decorate our homes and take care of our yards and gardens include ingredients that are carcinogens and hormone disruptor.
Here’s how changes in your household habits can help to limit your chemical exposure:
Switch to non-toxic household products: look for products with the
Terrachoice EcoLogo or other credible certification of “green” products and services or ask the store about safer products.
Avoid chlorine bleach and bleach products: look for “processed chlorine free” on the label.
Use pesticide-free or non-toxic products in your yard and garden: avoid products with 2,4-D or malathion.
For children
Research is looking into the possible effects of chemical exposures during key periods of human development: for the fetus, during infancy and puberty. Due to their size and stage of development, children and teenagers may be at a higher risk from the possible health effects of chemical exposures.
Here’s how you can limit children’s chemical exposure:
Look for BPA-free baby bottles and feeding cups.
Use ceramic or glass containers instead of plastic to microwave food and drinks for the family, to prevent leaching from the container to the food.
Avoid buying second-hand, soft vinyl toys and childcare articles that children may put in their mouths.
When buying new toys or childcare articles, ask the store what their products are made from and, in the case of plastic toys, if they have phthalate-free articles.
Although traces of chemicals have been found in breast milk, the benefits of breastfeeding for women and their babies still vastly outweigh the risks.
More Information
Sources
Gray, J. (Sixth Ed, 2010). State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Breast Cancer Fund. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Griffin, S. (2009) Environmental Exposure: The CancerSmart Guide to Breast Cancer Prevention. Toxic Free Canada.
Griffin, S. (2007). CancerSmart 3.0. The Consumer Guide. Labour Environmental Alliance Society.
Hutchcroft, S. A. et al (Eds). (2010). Cancer and the environment: Ten topics in environmental cancer epidemiology in Canada. In Chronic Diseases in Canada – Vol. 29, Supplement 1, 2010. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Nudelman, J. & Engel, C. (2010). From SCIENCE to ACTION. In State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Breast Cancer Fund. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Reuben, S. H. for the President’s Cancer Panel. (April 2010). Reducing Environmental Risk. What We Can Do Now. U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute. Accessed July 31, 2011.