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Environmental Integrity and the Incidence of Cancer

Environmental Integrity and the Incidence of Cancer. Pooja Mehra Thomas Shahady. Central Questions Concerning Environmental Degradation. Human Environment Changes to Ecological Integrity Patterns in Lifestyle Land Consumption and Chemical Use “A Part of Nature” or “Apart from Nature”.

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Environmental Integrity and the Incidence of Cancer

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  1. Environmental Integrity and the Incidence of Cancer Pooja Mehra Thomas Shahady

  2. Central Questions Concerning Environmental Degradation • Human Environment Changes to Ecological Integrity • Patterns in Lifestyle • Land Consumption and Chemical Use • “A Part of Nature” or “Apart from Nature”

  3. Does Degradation of Water Quality Impact Our Lives • A Critical Question when arguing for Protection • Drinking water from distant sources – reservoirs and watersheds • Degradation impacts to distant places – Chesapeake Bay • Local Impact to our Health – Are we paying a price to our health? • Costs for treatment.

  4. Study • Collection of Water Quality Data in Area • Use of Fish to reflect long term water quality changes • Hitt and Hendryx 2010 • Analyze Cancer Data from Cancer Registry in Area (Pooja Mehra – UVa Medical Student) • Calculation of cancer incidence based on reported cases per population of area. • Look for correlations with Data • Simple regressions and ANOVA analysis

  5. Electroshock the Fish

  6. Areas of Study 24503 24501 24502 24588

  7. Table 1 – Correlation Coefficients and Statistical Significance of all cancer types tested in our study. A simple ANOVA was used to test significance.

  8. Breast Cancer

  9. Total Cancer

  10. Blood

  11. Implications

  12. Breast Cancer Triggers and the Environment • Risk factors for breast cancer: • Early onset of menstruation • Late menopause • Hormone replacement therapy • Birth control pills • Exposure to certain chemicals, in plastics and pesticides • Exposure to radiation • Xenoestrogens are chemicals that mimic estrogens. They can be found in lawn pesticides and certain types of plastic. • BPA is used in polycarbonate plastic bottles, lining of tin cans, and dental sealants. • Synthetic estrogen can disrupt a human’s endocrine system - DDT was the first “intentionally released” chemical to be found estrogenic.

  13. Links to Suburban Lifestyle • BPA • Lawns and Pesticides • DEA and TEA

  14. Government Says 2 Common Materials Pose Risk of Cancer – June 2011 Formaldehyde Styrene

  15. Conclusions • Difficult to make direct links to cancer but the relationship exists. • Our past work does link water quality degradation to destructive land use. This research provides a potential cancer link. • Is there a community planning risk here? Do land use decisions impact our health through the creation of urban sprawl and suburbs forcing suburban lifestyle choices?

  16. Environmental Improvements and Health • Rejection of Suburban Lifestyle • Local unpackaged foods and beverages • Household and clothing goods • Lawns and household environments • Broader solutions require changes in development patterns • Less land disturbance and consumption • Stream restoration • Clean energy and transportation

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