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Scientist Smackdown: Are Environmental Toxins a Huge Cancer Threat?

The President's Cancer Panel report reveals environmental toxins cause serious health risks, urging stricter regulations on chemicals.

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Yesterday, a government entity called the President's Cancer Panel released an alarming report declaring that environmental toxins are causing "grievous harm" to Americans. The authors of the report (pdf) went on to say that while much more research needs to be done to determine the long-term effects of exposure, they believe that the "true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated."

But no sooner had they released the report than other cancer experts came forward to say that it wasn't alarming, but rather alarmist.

First, the panel's findings. In the 240-page report, the advisory panel noted that Americans are exposed to chemicals whose safety hasn't yet been definitively established--like the chemical BPA that's found in some everyday plastics, pesticides, and the substances found in industrial pollution. They write:

"With nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market in the United States, many of which are used by millions of Americans ...

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