Sanet Post, Dale Wilson
RE: Cancer and Farmers
March 3, 1999
Hi Chuck, > Yes, there is much evidence that a variety of cancers are > elevated among those exposed to pesticides on or near > farms where pesticides are routinely used, especially in > areas where exposure via drinking water is common. The > evidence is strongest for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and related > cancers. There must be over a dozen major epidemiological > studies in the U.S. showing elevated risk ratios among > farm/rural communities.
I did a lit search on this because I don't trust the conventional wisdom on either side of the debate about pesticide risk. The search logic was "(growers or farmers) and (health or hygiene or cancer)". Out of the 153 hits I kept only about 70 abstracts from fairly large studies on occupational health, except for a couple small studies focused on possible cancer from pesticides, since this is a matter of central interest. Maybe half the papers are about dust, allergies and pathological hazards, including carcinogenic mycotoxins.
There have been some big studies and some meta-analyses concerning cancer incidence and occupation. According to most of these, the overall cancer incidence among farmers is lower than the population in general. Although several types of cancer come up in one study only (statistical flukes?), the things that seem to keep coming up are certain lymphatic cancers and myelomas. A few studies showed increased incidence of stomach and rectal cancers among farmers, but also similar increases among other workers exposed to mineral dusts. Of course skin cancer is more likely among farmers.
Last Updated on 3/7/99
By Karen Lutz
Email: karen@hillnet.com