Carcinogens

Fourteen years ago, as chemicals gobbled up the Earth's ozone layer, an international treaty ordered a phaseout of a popular pesticide for strawberries and other high-value crops. Now, U.S. officials are poised to replace it with a new pesticide -- one that is highly toxic and has been declared a cancer-causing chemical by the state of California.

For home cooks and professional chefs, Teflon might be the best kitchen innovation since sliced bread became a cliche. A pan with the nonstick coating makes easy-to-lift omelets and cleans up like a dream. The concept of a cooking surface so smooth that nothing sticks has even leapt into the political lexicon. An American leader who weathered scandal and criticism became known as the Teflon president.

Re "Traces of Prescription Drugs Found in Southland Aquifers," Jan. 30 Prescription drugs in reclaimed water -- that's no surprise. The National Research Council, in a 1998 study, indicated that reclaimed water is unsafe for drinking because the technology does not exist to test for thousands of potential toxins and carcinogens that can survive the reclamation process. Instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop, water districts should be considering technologies, such as desalination, that are now less expensive and produce safer water.

Endorsing the view that reducing risk is always for the best are the California attorney general and environmental activists. They want to warn consumers about the presence of acrylamide, a known carcinogen, in French fries and potato chips. Taking a more pragmatic approach are food scientists. They say that acrylamide has been discovered in many foods -- black olives, coffee, bread, breakfast cereal -- and that humans have been eating the chemical for years with few, if any, ill effects.

Toxicologists are quick to point out that raw, natural foods -- just like processed ones -- are themselves complex chemical mixtures. Start analyzing them and you'll find tens of thousands of chemical compounds, not all of them good for you. "What protects us is that these chemicals are present at very, very low levels, and we have defense mechanisms in place," says Michael Pariza, a food toxicologist and microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin.

California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer sued nine snack- and fast-food giants Friday, saying the law requires them to tell the public that their potato chips and French fries contain a toxic chemical. In a suit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Lockyer sought a court order compelling the companies to place warnings on their cooked potato products because they contain higher levels of a suspected carcinogen, acrylamide, than other foods. The defendants include Frito-Lay Inc., KFC Corp.

A New York City company said it was recalling two Chinese herbal supplements because they contained a carcinogen linked to kidney disease. Kingsway Trading Inc. of Brooklyn said it was recalling its dietary pills Double Deers Formula brand Expellin Extract (Concentrated) and Cardioflex.

A World Health Organization panel has upgraded its assessment of the danger of formaldehyde, declaring for the first time that the chemical is "carcinogenic to humans." The warning from the International Agency for Research on Cancer contrasts with the approach taken by the Bush administration in February, when the Environmental Protection Agency approved an industry-backed rule intended to spare many plywood and timber-product plants from strict formaldehyde emission controls.

Golden, greasy and oh-so good, French fries are the guilty staple of the American diet. But in California, a strict right-to-know law could soon force fast-food restaurants to tell customers that the ubiquitous fries may pack something worse than fat and cholesterol: a potential carcinogen.

Women who have been coloring their hair for 24 years or more have a higher risk of developing a cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma, U.S. researchers reported Friday. They said their study of 1,300 women could help explain a mysterious rise in the number of cases of the cancer that affects the lymphatic system.