Monday, April 2, 2012 It is well established that carcinogenic
substances are lurking in the environment around us, but just
how many cancer cases are caused by these substances remains a
mystery. Diet and smoking habits make up nearly 60 percent of
cancer cases, and thus personal lifestyle changes play a major
factor, but how many cancer cases result from environmental and
occupational exposure? For decades the estimate for such cases
has remained at 6 percent, but many experts feel that number is
significantly lower than what is actually true. In a 1981 report
by two scientists, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Richard Peto, was
published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It
was estimated that pollutants in the environment caused about 2
percent of cancer deaths and exposures in occupational settings
were responsible for 4 percent. Using these numbers, 30,000 U.S.
deaths resuleds from these exposures in 2009. But the percentage
of cancer cases caused by environmental toxins and occupational
exposure