LYMPHOMA MORE COMMON NEAR FACTORIES

 


A new study has found a direct correlation between being near factories and non Hodkin's lymphoma, the more deadly form of the disease. 

The study found that in Georgia people with higher incidence of the disease usually lived near petroleum refineries and manufacturing plants.

The metropolitan ares of Atlanta, furthermore, and the an industrial area near Savannah were also found to have higher incidences of the disease.  The rate decreased significantly as people lived further away from the 'hot' zone.  In fact it was calculated mathematically to drop by .31% for each further mile away from the industrial/manufacturing zone. 

This lead the researchers to the conclusion that even small changes in distance substantially reduce the risk.  

The metro areas of Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah had the worse rates.  The lowest risk rates were located in the southern part of the state. 

A link between benzene and lymphoma is therefore suspected.  However, further studies are recommended, since it is hard to know how much each individual's exposure is.  Benzene is a cancer causing compound.  Furthermore the areas near the industrialized zones release benzene which then seeps into the soil and the groundwater besides being released into the air. 

Benzene is already known to have clear links with leukemia and is an established cause of the disease.  But lymphomas attack the white cells and not the red cells as in Leukemia, so that link must be studied further, if it does exist for lymphoma too. 

Benzene is not just released by industrial production, it is also emitted  by car exhausts and cigarette smoke, so that dense urban areas pose their own distinct risk even without the presence of industry. 

Source : Live Science/ 7.30.13

 

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