Study Links Plastic Ingredient to Prostate Cancer

New research shows that animals exposed to a chemical found in plastics are more likely to develop prostate cancer later in life. Scientists say their research is the first to find such a link.
The GLRC’s Mark Brush has more:

Transcript

New research shows that animals exposed to a chemical found in plastics are more likely
to develop prostate cancer later in life. Scientists say their research is the first to find
such a link. The GLRC’s Mark Brush has more:


The chemical is known as bisphenol A. And it’s used to make the hard plastic found in
everything from microwave cookware to baby bottles to CDs – just to name a few. The
researchers say that rats exposed to this chemical in their mother’s womb are more likely
to develop prostate cancer as adults. They say the rats were exposed to low doses of the
chemical, similar to the levels found in humans.


Gail Prins headed up the study published in the journal Cancer Research.


“I want to take a lot of caution. I’m not saying that I have evidence that this is causing
human cancers, I’m just saying it’s part of the body of evidence that these type of
chemicals and exposures may be a contributing factor.”


Prins says it’s difficult for people to avoid these chemicals because they’re in products
we use everyday. But she says plastic containers tend to release more chemicals when
they are heated.

For the GLRC, I’m Mark Brush.

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Province Seeks to Recycle E-Waste

  • Ontario has proposed a new recycling plan for electronic waste in an effort to conserve materials and reduce pollution. (Photo by Eylem Culculoglu)

Old computers, televisions and stereos may soon be
found in recycling bins across Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:

Transcript

Old computers, televisions and stereos might soon be found in recycling
bins across Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:


Last year, 157 thousand tonnes of electronic waste ended up in Canadian
landfills.


The Ontario government plans to send that waste to recycling plants instead.
It will require electronics manufacturers to devise a recycling plan for their
own products – things like CD players, microwaves and even power tools – and then
help pay for it. John Steele is a spokesman for the Ontario environment ministry.


“Our goal is to reduce the amount of electronic waste that enters a landfill site.
Once something enters a landfill site, for all intents and purposes, it can not be
recycled or reused. It’s a waste of a resource as far as the Ministry of the Environment
is concerned.”


It’s also a source of pollution. Many electronics contain toxins like lead and mercury.
Steele says the plan will be modelled after recycling agreements the province already has
with newspaper, soft drink and pizza box manufacturers.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

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Plastics in Microwave May Pose Health Risks

A recent Wall Street Journal article has again raised the issue of
plastic food wraps used in microwave ovens. Citing a recent study by
Consumer Reports, the Journal cast doubt on the safety of plastics that
can leak chemicals into foods–some of these chemicals can interfere with
our body’s hormones. While scientists differ in their assessment of the
risks, most agree that consumer caution is warranted. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Haven Miller has more: