Exposure to toxic chemicals in food, water, and air may be leading to a dramatic surge in childhood cancers, asthma, and sudden infant death syndrome in Canadian children, according to a report released earlier this week. For example, the report by the Canadian Institute of Child Health found that childhood cancers have increased by 25 percent in the last 25 years, and that some of the cancers, such as acute lymphocytic leukemia and tumors of the central nervous system, have been tied, at least in part, to exposure to environmental contaminants. Trevor Hancock, chair of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, writes in an opinion piece that “we are collectively responsible for what amounts to environmental child abuse.”
