Tobacco Documents Online

µA~s3a r. aUL~^ ,F~+?~v.~stf x}',';.~ ?,..'" ~:~r.~YwT`w Tt~wf~ _ . . at'least one medical tpublication Peatured air pollution problems `;; ollowing an industrial health confereace in Rochester, N Y _.. T a,,- ,ry .. .. CONFERENCE STUDIES CARCINOGENS IN AIR '' . ' ung caneer investigators have Ct Cinii Fn ener,cnnat,rom extesive long pondered over the cumulative ef- air samplings in 103 cities and 24' . fects of' the atmospheric pollutant 3, rural locations, he calculated that the 4 benzpyrene, a known carcinogen in nonsmoker in many large cities in- animals and a suspected one in man. hales more benzpyrene than a pack-a- They have likewise wondered how day cigarette smoker in rural com- mueh of the compound~ which is munities. found in cigarette smoke, actually exists in city atmospheres EAST HIGH, WEST LOW -„Partial answers to both questions: Concentrations of the carcinogen emerged from the 1960 Industrial were highest in the Easnand Midwest, Health Conference in Rochesters ; lowest in the West, and from three to ; N. Y. Dr. William C. Hueper and ! 20 times greater in winter than in William W. Payne, Sc.D, of the Na- ; summer. Birmingham, Alabama, tops no~~Fi r°dot~~i TROAN no~~Fir° sf1O°a wri"` -_ °':tional Cancer Institute, reported that all Ameriean cities in atmospheric Ey ~ '. We't live without breathing But sometimes repeated small doses of 4 benzpy b it can 3,-enzpyrene:s nonsmoking resi_ 1" p `` what we do breathe hel s kill us. rene given over a 12-month period dents inhale some 150 micrograms of 77iat's how the Journal of `e 7lidence ts'accumulatln8 appeared to induce more tumors in the compound annually, as against 60 the American Medical Asso• which "suggests" thatiair pol- mtcethan did the same amount of the micrograms for the rural pack-a-day oation sums up the growing lution may be a cause of lung carcinogen in one large doso.. ..., smoker. The.Biimin ham conoentra- problem of air pollutton- pN~r, asthma and pulmo- i g "hsa cond~tion ln experiments with 1,000 mice, tiona however is far outclassed by nary empyem a, "'Paday, in numerous ptaces that produees etfects opposite the investigators inJected quantities of' that of smoky London thrnout the world, the air con• to those oi asthma benz rene ran in from 0.008 milli- talns hundteds of substances py g$ ' As to the relationship between at- mospheric benzpyrene and lung can- cer, Dr. Sawicki reports that while mass data show a correlation between >me of these make ua tiondue to, hardeningdosesproduced,moretumors-mostlyI : t.emforiab4e or ill and at and deaths. lungcancermortalityandcommunity stomach~anideS cancer of the of the fibrosarcoma or spindle-cell' size, the relationship does not hold ttnpes hasten the end of huA ., . ,., . ~ esophagns~. . , : ^ yfpSHIN02bNDAILY :Washington~ D: ~60 EYIDENCE PILING UP ,. { _ zt l ir Pllui Culd B otonoe which were never intended to )in addition, the Jotunai grams to 0.5 milligrams, either in a be lnhaledr" the Journal re• points out, researchers are single dose orin 12 equal monthly in- ports. finding "a aerinitF associa• actions. The found thatthe monthl between air pollution 1 Y Y i mpn beings. ~ `OBVIOIiS ' 3'he Journal' says It is ob wtous " unsavory gases and'~ " solids in the air have pro- duced '•'deti imental effects" on t-:' people. "However, as yet scien• t'' tifit proof of the specific haz• ~' . ards to human health Is frag• ki it diffilt -mentary,. mang,cut to an•ive at valid conclusionsL"' Nevertheless, the Journal notes, ''there is no doubt" kill- er smogs can occur-as they have in IMnora, Pa., and in ` London. FLrThermore, It says: . The "evidence is clear that certain air pollutants can cause bronchitis." ' a 1ltere i!. "abundant evi:- dence that the Los Angeles smog affects the eyes of its Citizens, temporarily at least, , to the point of distraction." MEDICAI, WORLD May 20, 1960 type-than the single injections, ex- for individual~eities: As a possibie ex- cept at the lowest dosage levels. planation, he notes that recent mor- This finding took on added signifi-; tality figures presumably reflect ex- eance.in the light of a second report posure to carcinogens in 1920-50, by Eugene Sawicki, Ph.D., of the which would probably differ in pat- Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering tern from the 1959 measurements. NEWS 90 70 50 H Single vs. repeated monthly doses of benzpyrene. Administered,in~ I 12monfhly dose --s 0 0 TOTAL DOSE OF BENZ PYRENE, MILLIGRAMS 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0,5 06 0.7.