Xenoestrogens and Breast Cancer

Chemophobia, the unreasonable fear of chemicals, is a common public reaction to scientific or media reports suggesting that exposure to various environmental contaminants may pose a threat to health. The specter of cancer, birth defects, and irreversible effects on infants and children invariably scares people and leads to demands for action. During the past five to six years, there has been widespread scientific debate and media coverage concerning a new potential threat to human health — environmental exposure to chemicals with endocrinologic activity. Attention has focused primarily on the weakly estrogenic organochlorine pollutants, including commercially produced chemicals such as polychlorinated . . .