Presidential Advisers Cancer Warning: Babies Born Pre-Polluted

Toxic chemicals, some linked to cancer, in our bodies and even in newborns. Researchers found 300 contaminants... industrial chemicals, consumer product ingredients, pesticides and pollutants from burning fossil fuels in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. The esteemed scientists and medical experts of the President's Cancer Panel called our newborn babies "pre-polluted".

This is an unprecedented report by the Presidential Cancer Advisers and they started their report with a strong statement directly to President Barack Obama saying, "The American people -- even before they are born -- are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures."

"The panel urges you most strongly 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," they continued.

Also noteworthy was the warning by two members of the panel about the possible risks of cell phones since so little is known and rather than wait for science to catch up, they recommended it would be prudent to wear headsets and make calls quickly.

New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg said he hoped the report would help boost support for a bill requiring closer regulation of chemicals... "My Safe Chemicals Act will require testing of all chemicals, and take substances off the market if the manufacturer cannot prove they are safe," he said. Approval of the legislation would take the guess work out of buying safe products.

According to the Presidential Cancer Advisers, our federal government is not doing enough to protect us from the numerous cancer-causing chemicals and radiation we are "bombarded" with every day, Reuters reports.

"Although nearly two-thirds of cancer cases are caused by lifestyle choices such as smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise, the two advisory members said many other cases are caused by pollution, radon gas from soil and medical imaging scans.
"The incidence of some cancers, including some most common among children, is increasing for unexplained reasons," wrote Dr. LaSalle Leffall, professor of surgery at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C. and Margaret Kripke, a retired professor from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center."

The Panel also suggests these measures to reduce our risks:

*Choose foods, house and garden products, toys, medicines and medical tests that will minimize exposure to toxic substances.

*Filter tap water, and store water in stainless steel, glass or other containers to avoid exposure to BPA and other plastic that some studies have linked to health concerns.

*Buy produce grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, or wash it well to remove them.

*Buy meat free of antibiotics and added hormones, and avoiding processed, charred and well-done meat.

The report is available at http://pcp.cancer.gov