Resources on cancer and the
environment
HEAL PUBLICATIONS AND TOOLS
Campaign: Sick of Pesticides
A Europe-wide campaign to raise awareness of the links between pesticides and ill-health, and to mobilise
collective action for change. Materials are available in English, French, Dutch and Hungarian.
Website in four languages – www.pesticidesandcancer.eu
On-line brochure on pesticides and health.
Pesticides and Health eNews – a monthly news letter on the latest developments on pesticide reduction in the EU, from
policy to community action. To receive Pesticides and Health eNews, please, send an e-mail to info@env-health.org.
Pesticides resources - extensive library of scientific reports and tools on pesticides and cancer. www.pesticidesandcancer.eu
Chemicals Health Monitor
Dedicated web pages specific to cancers and environmental factors: cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer
and testicular cancer. www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org
Chemicals and Disease News Bulletin - A regular news service providing information on the impact chemicals on public
health taken from media sources and scientific publications. To receive Chemicals and Disease News Bulletin, please, send
an e-mail to info@env-health.org.
Brochure: Chemical Cocktails: harmful mixtures upset our hormones
Scientists believe that increasing rates of cancer, diabetes and infertility could be reduced by removing certain
hormone disrupting chemicals from products. But to date political action has been half-hearted. This leaflet shows
the opportunities to better implement chemicals legislation to protect human and wildlife health - they just need
to be grasped.
The brochure is available in English and French on www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org (produced by HEAL,
WWF, CHEMTrust).
Report: Breast cancer and exposure to hormonally active chemicals - An appraisal of the scientific evidence
The report provides a review of the scientific evidence that certain chemicals may be implicated in breast
cancer, and focuses on the role of hormone disrupting chemicals. Particular reference is made to early
life and multiple chemical exposures. Written by Professor Andreas Kortenkamp, Head of the Centre for
Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, University of London, UK, the report has been peer reviewed by
Professor Jan Ake Gustafsson (whose team discovered the oestrogen receptor-beta), Dr Julia Brody
from the Silent Spring Institute, USA, and Prof Alastair M Thompson, Professor of Surgical Oncology at
the University of Dundee. The report is available in English on www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org
(Produced by HEAL and CHEMTrust).
Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), www.env-health.org
Briefing: Factors influencing the risk of breast cancer – established and emerging
This briefing summarizes the key information on all the risk factors and breast cancer with particular focus
on the potential role of certain chemicals in the environment. It is written in a language that is accessible
to non-scientists and is suitable for the general public and breast cancer suffers.
The briefing is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Armenian on
www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org (Produced by HEAL and CHEMTrust).
Leaflet: Breast Cancer - Preventing the preventable
This leaflet briefly describes the evidence that hormonally active chemicals may be implicated in breast
cancer. Written for sufferers and a wide public audience, the leaflet highlights the risk factors for breast
cancer, the views of several scientific groups concerning the role of chemicals, and what people can do to
minimize exposure. It also briefly describes the policy actions needed in order to reduce exposures to
hormonally active chemicals. The leaflet is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Czech
and Armenian on www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org (Produced by HEAL and CHEMTrust).
Leaflet: Men Under Threat - A leaflet on the decline in male reproductive health, and the potential role of exposure to
chemicals
This leaflet briefly describes the evidence that hormonally active chemicals may be implicated in the
deterioration of male reproductive health, gives some statistics on the rates of malformation of the penis,
undescended testicles, sperm counts and cancer of the testicle. Written for those affected and a wide
public audience, the leaflet explains the hypothesis of testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) and how all
the above problems may be linked to exposure to these chemicals during a male baby’s pre-natal
development. The information in this leaflet comes from the CHEMTrust report Male Reproductive Health
Disorders and the Potential Role of Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (listed in the next section) and can be found on
www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org
Consumer Guide: Bisphenol A in plastics: is it making us sick? Bisphenol A publication
This guide explains what the chemical Bisphenol A is and how best it can be avoided. The use of
plastics has become one of the defining characteristics of modern life. An increasing number of
scientific studies have made a direct link between one of the major components of most clear,
shatterproof plastic articles - Bisphenol A or BPA - and a surprising number in many diseases.
BPA is a known endocrine or hormone disruptor and is implicated in diseases ranging from
infertility, obesity, breast and prostate cancer, to diabetes, thyroid malfunction and attention deficit
syndrome. The guide is available in English and French on www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org (produced by
HEAL and Friends of the Earth, Europe)
What will new EU Chemicals Legislation Deliver for Public Health?
This four page briefing introduces the new EU law called ‘REACH’, and briefly discusses the health
problems linked to chemicals; how REACH can bring health benefits; the types of chemicals causing
concern; and how members of the health sector, whose voice is important, can give input to the
discussion on the law’s implementation. The briefing is also available in English, Italian, French, Czech,
Slovenian, Hungarian and Dutch on www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org
Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), www.env-health.org
PUBLICATIONS FROM HEAL MEMBERS AND PARTNERS
Male Reproductive Health Disorders and the Potential Role of Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (CHEMTrust)
The report is available in English on www.chemtrust.org.uk
Men under threat: A referenced briefing on the decline in male reproductive health and the potential role of exposure
to chemicals during in-utero development (CHEMTrust)
The briefing is available in English on www.chemtrust.org.uk
A review of the role of pesticides play in some cancers: Children, farmers and pesticides users at risk ? (CHEMTrust)
The report is available in English on www.chemtrust.org.uk
Linking breast cancer and our environment (Women in Europe for a Common Future)
The report is available in English on www.wecf.eu
Short film on endocrine disrupting chemicals and breast cancer. (Breast Cancer UK). The film is available in English on
www.nomorebpa.org.uk and in French on www.reseau-environnement-sante.fr
No More BPA Report (Breast Cancer UK)
The report is available in English on www.nomorebpa.org.uk
Collaborative ON HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT (CHE):
Girl, Disrupted: Hormone Disruptors and Women's Reproductive Health (Collaborative on Health & Environment
CHE). This public report is available in English on www.healthandenvironment.org
Hormone Disruptors and Women's Health: Reasons for Concern (Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE) Tri-
fold summary brochure intended for a general audience. The report is available in English on
www.healthandenvironment.org
"Female reproductive disorders: the roles of endocrine-disrupting compounds and developmental timing"
(Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE). This scientific review is available in English on
www.healthandenvironment.org
Working Groups (Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE)
Breast Cancer Working Group http://www.healthandenvironment.org/working_groups/br_cancer
Cancer Working Group http://www.healthandenvironment.org/working_groups/cancer
Webpages on specific cancers & environmental factors (Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE)
Brain Cancer: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/brain_cancer
Breast Cancer: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/breast_cancer
Childhood Leukemia http://www.healthandenvironment.org/childhood_leukemia
Ovarian Cancer http://www.healthandenvironment.org/ovarian_cancer
Prostate Cancer http://www.healthandenvironment.org/prostate_cancer
Testicular Cancer http://www.healthandenvironment.org/testicular_cancer
Factsheets and brochures on Cancer and Environment (Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE)
Environmental Factors in Cancer: Industrial and Manufacturing Exposures (Collaborative on Health & Environment
CHE). The Fact Sheet is available in English on www.healthandenvironment.org
Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), www.env-health.org
Environmental Factors in Cancer: Agricultural Exposures (Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE). The Fact Sheet
is available in English on www.healthandenvironment.org
Environmental Factors in Cancer: Indoor/Outdoor Air Pollution and Water Contamination (Collaborative on Health &
Environment CHE). The Fact Sheet is available in English on www.healthandenvironment.org
Environmental Factors in Cancer: Nuclear Fallout, Electromagnetic Fields, and Other Radiation Exposure
(Collaborative on Health & Environment CHE). The Fact Sheet is available in English on www.healthandenvironment.org
OTHER USEFUL TOOLS
Living Downstream Community Guide and educational DVD (Coming soon). A guide for educators who wish to use the
film in their teaching. Filled with lesson plans, review questions, key concepts and extension activities, it is designed to
encourage critical thinking. Produced in collaboration with teachers and their students. The DVD and guide are available
on www.livingdownstream.com
Reducing Environmental Cancer risk: What We Can Do Now (US Presidents’ Cancer Panel Report on Environment &
Cancer). In May 2010, the panel advised President Obama "to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens
and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's
productivity, and devastate American lives." The 240-page report by the President's Cancer Panel is the first to focus on
environmental causes of cancer. The panel, created by an act of Congress in 1971, is charged with monitoring the multi-
billion-dollar National Cancer Program and reports directly to the President every year. The report is available in English
on: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange - Prenatal Origins of Cancer (TEDX - The Endocrine Disruption Exchange). The
report is available in English on: http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/prenatal.cancer.overview.php
The Environment Cancer and You (Canadian Cancer Society)
The report is available in English on: www.cancer.ca
‘State of the Evidence’ on Environment and Breast Cancer (Breast Cancer Fund)
About: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/media/publications/state-of-the-evidence/
The report: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/assets/pdfs/publications/state-of-the-evidence-2010.pdf
Environnement et Cancers: E-bulletin Prevention (Tour d’horizon / Leefmilieu en kanker) (Belgian Cancer League).
The Bulletin is available in French on: http://www.cancer.be/images/prevention-et-depistage/faq/e-bulletin-prevention-
2010-06.pdf
An Environment and Cancer Booklet is available in French on http://www.cancer.be/index.php/actualites/livre-
environnement-et-cancers-141/menu-id-4721.html and in Dutch on http://www.kanker.be/index.php/nieuws/boek-
leefmilieu-en-kanker-141/id-menu-4722.html
Cancer & the Environment: What health providers should know (US Physicians for Social Responsibility) available in
English on www.psr.org
Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), www.env-health.org