ALBANY -- Cancer-causing toxins found in air, water and food are largely overlooked in the state's proposed cancer prevention plan, some anti-cancer advocates said.
"None of these are easily solved, but when you have a cancer control plan and you ignore a whole class of known carcinogens, that's just wrong," said David Carpenter, director of the University at Albany's Institute of Health and the Environment.
Every few years, the state collaborates with hundreds of organizations to form a statewide action plan that addresses cancer, from prevention to end-of-life care. A 67-page draft of the 2011-2016 New York State Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan sets specific objectives for reducing smoking and obesity while increasing cancer screening. In respect to toxins, the draft plan suggests legislators support environmental health initiatives aimed at decreasing exposure to known carcinogens, but offers few concrete goals.
"The focus should be on reducing (pollutant) exposure along with exposure to metals and exhaust," said Donald L. Hassig of Cancer Action NY.
Hassig, whose group was included in the drafting process of the plan, wants the state to target chemicals like PCBs, flame retardants, pesticides and dioxin, a byproduct of combustion that ends up in the food supply. The group is sending a letter to the state health commissioner urging the state to create education programs about the chemicals. The letter was also endorsed by the Capitol Region Action Against Breast Cancer, the Adirondack Council, the
New York Public Interest Research Group and the Citizens' Environmental Coalition.
Diane Mathis, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said the plan is still being revised, and environmental factors will be incorporated into it.
Measuring the effect of toxins on humans has proven difficult for scientists. The American Cancer Society estimates that less than 4 percent of cancers are caused by exposure to chemicals found in everyday life.
With input from doctors and experts in the cancer field, the state cancer plan focuses on areas where the evidence is strong, like tobacco use. "No one individual or organization can dictate what is in the plan," said
Angela Pause Smith, spokeswoman for the New York chapter of the American Cancer Society.