There was a large audience at the Clément Marot conference area to listen to Augustin le Naour explain the links that exist between certain cancers and the environment.
For the specialist in toxicology, 40% of cancers could be avoided. If tobacco, food, alcohol or a sedentary lifestyle are cited as the main cause of cancer, 5 to 10% are directly linked to the environment. The main culprit is pollution.
For example, Augustin le Naour specifies that France is the leading consumer of pesticides in Europe and that farmers are not the only ones to use them. They are found in insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and even skin repellents. The same goes for endocrine disruptors, estimated at more than 1,000. In the countryside, exposure to pesticides is greater than in more urbanized areas where residents are more exposed to air pollution. In 2016, the WHO noted that 80% of residents in urban areas were exposed to a level of air quality that did not meet its recommendations.
Other agents, whether biological such as human papilloma or physical, such as radon, are also sources of risks. But “there are reasons to hope”, concludes Augustin le Naour. “Firstly because research is advancing and knowledge allows for more appropriate treatments with chances of cure increasing from year to year. And popular pressure is forcing political leaders to take stock of the risks and to legislate, even if we still sometimes have to deal with powerful lobbies”
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