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 Hawaii
Breast Cancer and Pesticides in Hawaii
August 1, 1997
Rising breast cancer rates in Hawaii may be partially
attributable to intensive pesticide use in the state, according to a recent
study in Environmental Health Perspectives. Breast cancer rates have increased
for all racial groups in Hawaii since 1970, but only 30% to 40% of these cancers
can be explained by known risk factors. The study points out that an emerging
body of evidence suggests that certain chemicals including pesticides play a
role in causing the disease by interfering with the body's natural hormone
balance. Over the past 40 years in Hawaii, there has been widespread use of
endocrine disrupting pesticides, including DBCP, DDT, DDE, kepone, heptachlor,
chlordane, dieldrin, mirex, lindane and toxaphene.
Pesticide Action Network North America
http://www.panna.org/panna/
panna@panna.org
Source: Breast Cancer and Pesticides in Hawaii: The Need for
Further Study. Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 105, Supplement 3,
April 1997.
Breast Cancer and Pesticides in Hawaii:
The Need for Further Study
Ruth H. Allen,1 Michelle Gottlieb,2 Eve
Clute,3 Montira J. Pongsiri,4 Janette Sherman,5
and G. Iris Obrams1
1Extramural Epidemiology and Genetics Program,
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute,
Bethesda, Maryland; 2Health, Environment, and Development Program,
World Resources Institute, Washington, DC; 3School of Public Health,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii; 4School of Forestry and
Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; 5Department
of Sociology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Abstract
Only 30% of all breast cancer can be explained by known risk
factors. Increases in breast cancer incidence rates in Hawaii over the past few
decades cannot be attributed solely to improvements in screening and detection.
Avoidable environmental factors may contribute to a proportion of the
unexplained cases. Emerging evidence on endocrine disruption suggests that
environmental chemicals may play a role in the development of breast cancer.
Agricultural chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, have been used
intensively in Hawaii's island ecosystem over the past 40 years leaching into
groundwater, and leading to unusually widespread occupational and general
population exposures. This paper discusses breast cancer patterns in Hawaii in
the context of documented episodes of exposure to two endocrine-disrupting
chemicals, chlordane/heptachlor and 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), at
levels that sometimes exceeded federal standards by several orders of magnitude.
In light of this history, detailed geographic-based studies should be undertaken
in Hawaii to elucidate the potential role of environmental factors in the
development of breast cancer and other diseases. -- Environ Health Perspect
105(Suppl 3):679-683 (1997)
A common link among traditional risk factors is that they
promote breast cancer by elevating total lifetime exposure to biologically
active estrogens, principally in the form of estradiol (9). There is a growing
body of evidence that suggests that environmental chemicals can disrupt the
endocrine system and contribute to the development of breast cancer. The
universe of compounds shown to exhibit estrogenic function is extensive. These
compounds, labeled environmental estrogens, xenoestrogens, and estrogen
mimickers, share the ability to disrupt the endocrine system, causing a cascade
of biological effects. A number of restricted or banned pesticides used in
Hawaii are estrogenic. These include DDT, DDE, kepone, heptachlor, chlordane,
dieldrin, mirex, lindane, and toxaphene (10,11). Other compounds that may
disrupt hormonal mechanisms include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
polyaromatic hydrocarbon combustion pollutants, and ingredients in plastics such
as nonylphenol (12,13). Naturally occurring plant estrogens called bioflavonoids
(e.g., coumestrol) and mycotoxins (e.g., zearalenone) may be even more
estrogenic than industrial chemicals (12,14), although their ultimate biologic
effect may be less toxic (15). Natural estrogens are usually metabolized and
excreted rapidly, but synthetic estrogens can have long half-lives and
bioaccumulate in fat (16).
Fleet/trucking/bus terminals
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Technical Report No. 9
BEHAVIOR OF SELECTED PESTICIDES WITH PERCOLATING WATER IN OAHU SOILS
by: Marshall A. Eto, Nathan C. Burbank, Jr., Howard W. Klemmer, and L.Stephen
Lau
August 1967
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the ability of two Oahu soils, Wahiawa and Lahaina,
to prevent chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides; DDT and Lindane, in
acetone solutions from percolating through the soils. The study was prompted by
the possibility of contamination of Oahu's domestic groundwater source by the
two widely used insecticides. Wahiawa and Lahaina soils were effective in
withholding DDT under saturated and intermittent flow conditions. Breakthrough
of Lindane was noted in Wahiawa and Lahaina soil under saturated flow,
and under intermittent flow conditions in Wahiawa soil only. Breakthrough
concentrations were generally in the order of 0.3 ppm or lower. Breakthrough of Lindane
and concentrations in the percolate were in direct proportion to soil volume.
Column analysis showed that, in most cases, Lahaina soil held both pesticides in
the upper three inches while Wahiawa soil held only DDT in the same region. Lindane
was evenly distributed through the Wahiawa columns with a slightly greater count
held at the surface. Pesticide loss through volatility in Lahaina soil was 60 to
80% of that noted in Wahiawa soil. Overall losses were as high as 50% for DDT
and 25% for Lindane in the Wahiawa soil. Resistance to loss through
volatility and retention of pesticides in soil appear to be directly related to
organic matter content. Five Oahu soils tested to determine their ability to
absorb pesticides from water-acetone solutions effectively removed pesticides in
solute concentrations up to 1OO ppm. DDT and Lindane were removed in the
order of 90 to 100% by swirling the soils in the pesticide solutions. No
desorption occurred with water, but both pesticides were absorbed with benzene.
Data obtained may be described by the Freundlich adsorption isotherm X/M = KC1/n
where X/M = amount of pesticide sorbed per unit weight of soil, C =
concentration of pesticide solution, and K = constant. values of K and n for Lindane
sorption were in the range of 0.1 and 0.9, respectively, and for DDT they were
in the order of 2.0 and 1.0, respectively.
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