Working in a “toxic soup” of chemicals linked to certain occupations can double a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, research suggests.
High-risk jobs include those in agriculture, plastics, food packaging, metal manufacture and the bar and gambling industry, according to the findings.
Women employed for 10 years in some of these sectors had more than twice the normal chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
For younger pre-menopausal women, working in factories producing plastic components for cars or tin cans increased the risk five-fold.
All these occupations involve exposure to potential carcinogens or “endocrine disrupter” chemicals that interfere with the body’s natural hormone systems.
There is increasing evidence that even low-level exposure to endocrine disrupters over long periods of time can lead to changes that trigger cancer.
The study prompted a demand from the charity Breast Cancer UK for the Government to tighten chemical regulation. Clare Dimmer, who chairs the charity, said: “This research reveals yet more evidence that our daily exposure to a cocktail of chemicals increases our vulnerability to diseases, such as breast cancer.
“This research has implications for everyone, not just those working in the industrial sector. We are all exposed to these cancer causing chemicals on a daily basis due to their use in a whole range of everyday products like food and drink packaging.”
Each year around 46,000 women in the UK develop breast cancer and more than 12,000 die from the disease.
British-led researchers conducting the international study looked at 1,006 women with breast cancer in Southern Ontario, Canada.
They were compared with 1,147 randomly selected and matched women from the local community.
Information about participants’ occupational and reproductive histories was collected through interviews and surveys.
The scientists assessed the impact on cancer risk of spending 10 years in different occupations, taking account of a five-year time lag between exposure and diagnosis.