Skin Cancer is Most Common Cancer in US, Yet One of the Most Preventable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2012

Skin Cancer is Most Common Cancer in US, Yet One of the Most Preventable
EPA, FDA, NPS, National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention Highlight Sun Safety Tips for 'Don’t Fry Day': May 25^th
WASHINGTON – As summer quickly approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Park Service (NPS) to emphasize the dangers of skin cancer and has provided simple steps Americans can take to protect themselves. The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention designated the Friday before Memorial Day “Don’t Fry Day” as a way to highlight sun safety.

“Skin cancer prevention and sun safety are important issues for EPA – our primary mission is to protect people’s health and the environment,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “While the agency has made steady progress protecting the Earth's ozone layer, the SunWise program and Don't Fry Day help teach children and families simple steps to stay safe in the sun and protect themselves from harmful UV rays.”
“The risk of skin cancer is very real. It's therefore important that consumers prevent sunburn and protect themselves from the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging throughout the year,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. “The FDA strongly recommends that consumers regularly use a Broad Spectrum sunscreen with an SPF value of 15 or higher in combination with other protective measures to more effectively protect themselves and their families whenever they are in the sun.”

“Whether you hike or stroll, paddle a canoe or kayak or just sit in a mountain meadow watching the clouds go by, remember to put on your hat, apply sunscreen and have plenty of water to drink,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “These sun safety tips will protect your skin and I think guarantee that we’ll see you often in your national parks.”

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and the most common cancer among 20 to 30 year-olds. It's estimated that one American dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Approximately 76,000 new cases of melanoma will occur this year.

To help protect people's health, EPA’s SunWise program, one of the nation's largest environmental and health education programs, encourages kids and their caregivers to practice safe sun habits and raises awareness about UV sunlight that penetrates the Earth's ozone layer.

Here are some tips to help Americans continue to exercise, get outside and be SunWise this Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer:

Check the UV Index app: Check the ultraviolet (UV) index anytime by downloading EPA's app (epa.gov/enviro/mobile) to help plan outdoor activities in ways that prevent overexposure to the sun. UV rays from the sun (and from artificial light sources such as tanning beds) can lead to skin cancer.

Apply sunscreen and wear protective clothing: Apply a palm-full of sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher that provides broad-spectrum protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to exposed skin about 15 minutes before heading outdoors. Reapply every two hours. Wearing protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses also prevents sun damage.

Seek shade, not sun: The sun’s UV rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., so seek shade during this time.

Although less common in individuals with darker complexions, skin cancer does not discriminate and is more often fatal for individuals with darker skin. Overexposure to the sun also causes immune suppression and up to 90 percent of wrinkles, brown spots, leathering of the skin and sagging.

EPA's SunWise program offers factsheets online that have state-specific information (epa.gov/sunwise/statefacts.html). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the states with the highest melanoma death rates include Nebraska, Vermont, Colorado, Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Idaho.

More on SunWise: http://www.epa.gov/sunwise

More on FDA sun safety: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm258416.htm

More on NPS Healthy Parks Healthy People: http://www.nps.gov/public_health/hp/hphp.htm

More on CDC skin cancer prevention efforts: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/

The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention social media opportunities: http://twibbon.com/cause/Don39t-Fry-Day-7/Join

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Final Health Assessment for Perc

News release from EPA:

CONTACT:

Latisha Petteway (News Media Only)

petteway.latisha@epa.gov

202-564-3191

202-564-4355

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 10, 2012

EPA Releases Final Health Assessment for Tetrachloroethylene (Perc)

Public health protections remain in place

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted the final health assessment for tetrachloroethylene – also known as perchloroethylene, or perc – to EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. Perc is a chemical solvent widely used in the dry cleaning industry. It is also used in the cleaning of metal machinery and to manufacture some consumer products and other chemicals. Confirming longstanding scientific understanding and research, the final assessment characterizes perc as a “likely human carcinogen.” The assessment provides estimates for both cancer and non-cancer effects associated with exposure to perc over a lifetime.

EPA does not believe that wearing clothes dry cleaned with perc will result in exposures which pose a risk of concern. EPA has already taken several significant actions to reduce exposure to perc. EPA has clean air standards for dry cleaners that use perc, including requirements that will phase-out the use of perc by dry cleaners in residential buildings by December 21, 2020. EPA also set limits for the amount of perc allowed in drinking water and levels for cleaning up perc at Superfund sites throughout the country, which will be updated in light of the IRIS assessment.  

“The perc health assessment released today will provide valuable information to help protect people and communities from exposure to perc in soil, water and air,” said Paul Anastas, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “This assessment emphasizes the value of the IRIS database in providing strong science to support government officials as they make decisions to protect the health of the American people.”

The toxicity values reported in the perc IRIS assessment will be considered in:

·        Establishing cleanup levels at the hundreds of Superfund sites where perc is a contaminant
·         Revising EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Level for perc as part of the carcinogenic volatile organic compounds group in drinking water, as described in the agency’s drinking water strategy
·         Evaluating whether to propose additional limits on the emissions of perc into the atmosphere, since perc is considered a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act

The assessment replaces the 1988 IRIS assessment for perc and for the first time includes a hazard characterization for cancer effects. This assessment has undergone several levels of rigorous, independent peer review including: agency review, interagency review, public comment, and external peer review by the National Research Council. All major review comments have been addressed.

EPA continues to strengthen IRIS as part of an ongoing effort to ensure the best possible science is used to protect human health and the environment. In May 2009, EPA streamlined the IRIS process to increase transparency, ensure the timely publication of assessments, and reinforce independent review. In July 2011, EPA announced further changes to strengthen the IRIS program in response to recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences. EPA’s peer review process is designed to elicit the strongest possible critique to ensure that each final IRIS assessment reflects sound, rigorous science.

More information on the perc IRIS assessment: http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0106.htm

More information on perc: http://epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/perchloroethylene_fact_sheet.html

More information on IRIS: http://www.epa.gov/IRIS

EPA & TDSHS Warn Against Eating Contaminated Fish

News release from EPA Region 6:

Thursday, February 2, 2012

EPA and TDSHS Warn Against Consumption of Contaminated Fish

(DALLAS – February 2, 2012) During the week of February 6-12, 2012, representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) will be in the area of South Alamo, Texas, to speak with residents about the contamination in the Donna Reservoir and Canal. This effort is being made to provide local residents with information about the health risks of consuming fish taken from the Donna Reservoir and Canal. The possession of contaminated fish taken from the reservoir is prohibited by the TDSHS.

The principal pollutants in the reservoir are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that can cause a number of different harmful effects in humans. The primary risk to human health from PCBs is from suspended sediment in the water and the consumption of contaminated fish. Effects of consumption of contaminated fish may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, skin rashes, acne, and cancer. 

The Donna Reservoir and Canal is an EPA Superfund site located in Hidalgo County in southern Texas just north of the Rio Grande. The site includes the Donna Reservoir, the Donna Main Canal, the West and East Main Canals which extend north from the reservoir, and a series of interconnecting canals.  

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