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SUNNY Temp: 55 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Tuesday, June 4, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 3, 2002 Since you asked An orchard- related cancer study has too many variables I’ve heard from several people that cancer rates are higher for those living near orchards due to the use of chemical spraying. Does anyone in Jackson County track these statistics? — Tim M., Medford You’re smart to be concerned, Tim. One person in three is likely to develop some kind of cancer during his or her lifetime, says epidemiologist Michael Heumann, who manages the environmental and occupational epidemiology program for Oregon’s Department of Human Services. The short answer to your question is no — Jackson County does not track the local incidence of cancer. Gary Stevens, the county’s director of environmental health, says it would be extremely difficult to study scientifically because there are so many variables involved. Since 1996 all cancer cases have been reported to the Department of Human Services. Heumann says researchers have seen no unusual cluster of cancers anywhere that might be connected to exposure to agricultural chemicals. He says people who work with concentrated agricultural chemicals for a number of years (mixing them, spraying them, and washing tanks) may be more likely to contract some kinds of rare cancers, but there’s no data to suggest that people who live near orchards have more cancer. Finding the source of a case of cancer would challenge the best detective. To accurately assess cancer risk from exposure to orchard chemicals, researchers would need to know which kinds of cancer might be caused by those chemicals and then look at local cancer rates to see whether those kinds of cancers occurred more frequently here. But that’s just the beginning. They’d also have to study the life history of the cancer victims to determine where they were exposed to the chemicals that were linked to their cancer. Researchers would also need to determine whether the orchards near our hypothetical cancer patient’s home actually used those carcinogenic chemicals when he lived there. Scientists would also have to ascertain whether our cancer patient was exposed to those chemicals in a way that’s known to cause cancer. Carcinogens can be inhaled when we breathe, absorbed when they land on skin, or ingested in food we eat. Each exposure has a different level of cancer risk. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S