Environment and Breast Cancer: Science Review
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Major use
We assigned each chemical into one of the following groups based on its major
sources and uses: industrial chemicals, chlorinated solvents, products of combustion,
pesticides, dyes, radiation and drinking water disinfection, pharmaceuticals, hormones, natural
products, and research chemicals.
Industrial chemical
Found in consumer products
"Likely" indicates that the chemical is contained in consumer
products or traces of the chemical are present in products, including food and water, resulting
in likely exposure for the general population. For some chemicals marked as "likely," consumer
product uses have been discontinued, and this will be indicated in the "Use in Consumer
Products" field.
Likely
Food additive in US
Chemicals are classified as "Listed" or "Not listed" in the Everything
Added to Food in the United States database developed by the US Food and Drug
Administration.(22)
Listed
California Proposition 65
Chemicals are labeled "Listed" or "Not listed" based on the Proposition 65 list of chemicals updated on May 27, 2005. Listed chemicals are "chemicals known by the State of
California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity"(19).
Listed
Air pollutant
Chemicals classified as "Likely" air pollutants are those likely to be found in
indoor or outdoor air, including products of combustion and industrial chemicals that may offgas
from consumer products, leading to human exposure.
Likely
Current High Production Volume chemical
Chemicals are classified "Yes" or "No," based on
2002 production volume information submitted to the US EPA: "Yes" for >1 million pounds
produced; "No" for < 1 million pounds produced. Some past production volumes are
referenced, where appropriate, in the HPV comment column (20). In addition, Scorecard.org is
referenced and noted in the HPV comment column when it was inconsistent with current
production volume information obtained from US EPA (21).
Yes
Production volume information
Production volume information is from the US EPA database
on non-confidential production volume information submitted by companies for chemicals
under the 1986-2002 Inventory Update Rule (IUR) using the most updated (2002) values (20).
The Inventory Update Rule requires the submission of basic production data every four years
on chemical substances manufactured (including imported) for commercial purposes in
amounts of 25,000 pounds or more at a single site. Out of over 80,000 chemicals on the TSCA
Chemical Substances Inventory, reports are required for approximately 9,000 substances. For
those substances with annual volumes of 300,000 lbs or more per site, reporters also submit
chemical processing and use information.
> 1 billion
General population exposure
This field includes information describing pathways of exposure
for the general population obtained from a variety of sources including: IARC Monographs (9),
NTP 11th ROC on Carcinogens (4), NTP Study Reports and Abstracts (3), Hazardous Substance
Database (10), and other sources located through use of the Google search engine.
Workers and the general public are exposed to benzene as a result of a variety of activities in which it is processed, generated or used. Major contributors to benzene emissions into air include: (1) gasoline production, storage, transport, vending and combustion; (2) production of other chemicals from benzene; and (3) indirect production of benzene (e.g., in coke ovens). The last is the major source of benzene emissions into water (IARC 1982 vol.:29 p.93). Measured in outdoor air at various U.S. locations at concentrations ranging from 0.02 ppb (0.06 µg/m3) (in a rural area) to 112 ppb (356 µg/m3) (in an urban area). Exposure to benzene is highest in areas of heavy motor vehicle traffic and around gasoline filling stations. General population also can be exposed to benzene by inhaling air containing tobacco smoke, drinking contaminated water, or eating contaminated food (11th ROC).
Use in consumer products
Summaries of chemical use in consumer products were developed
from information found in US EPA SRD (11), NLM HPD (12), and Scorecard (12). Major uses
were taken from IARC Monographs (9), NTP 11th ROC (4), NTP Study Reports (3), HSDB (10),
and PAN Pesticides Database (13). If a chemical could not be found in these sources, we
searched ToxNet (14), PubChem (15), and The Merck Index (16), and conducted searches by both
name and CAS No. using Google.
8 consumer products listed with EPA contain chemical including: carpets and rugs, fabric cleaners, and sealants (SRD). Also found in: auto products, pesticide products, adhesive remover (HPD, Scorecard). Used primarily as a solvent in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as a starting material and intermediate in the synthesis of numerous chemicals (including polymers, detergents, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, plastics, resins) and in gasoline. Benzene is used as an additive in gasoline, but it also is present naturally in gasoline (11th ROC).
Occupational exposure to women
We extracted the total number of potentially exposed workers and the
number of potentially exposed female workers from the National Occupational Exposure
Survey (NOES) 1981-1983; we listed specific industry classifications if >5,000 women were
potentially exposed in that industry. Note: NOES does not include farm workers.
NOES 1981-1983-Total exposed: 272,275 Females exposed: 143,066 Occupational fields exposed: nurses and other hospital workers, assemblers
US EPA cancer classification
The US EPA Weight of Evidence Characterization of the
chemical’s carcinogenic potential is listed: Group A: Carcinogenic to humans; Group B:
Probably carcinogenic to humans. Group C: Possibly carcinogenic to humans. Group D: Not
classifiable as to human carcinogenicity. Group E: Evidence of non-carcinogenicity for
humans. NA: Not evaluated by US EPA (17).
A: Carcinogenic to Humans
US EPA Weight of Evidence narrative
US EPA narrative statement of overall weight of
evidence for carcinogenicity (animal, human, and other supportive data).
Under the proposed revised Carcinogen Risk Assessment Guidelines (U.S. EPA, 1996), benzene is characterized as a known human carcinogen for all routes of exposure based upon convincing human evidence as well as supporting evidence from animal studies. (U.S. EPA, 1979, 1985, 1998; ATSDR, 1997).
US EPA slope factor basis
Lists target organs used for estimating carcinogenic potency of the
chemical (17).
Oral, Inhalation: Leukemia-human
NIOSH Pocket Guide - potential carcinogen?
This field indicates whether NIOSH identifies the chemical as a potential
carcinogen for workers (yes/no) (24).
yes
OSHA-Is medical surveillance required?
This field indicates whether medical surveillance is
required for exposed workers and whether required surveillance includes breast exams or
mammography (25).
yes, but no mammography
Risk assessments not reviewed for this chemical