OntheWilderSide

from a Media Advisory:

Dancing for Environmental Revolution Late in the Days of Cancer
Epidemic in the USA: A Cancer Action NY Call for Total Global Spiritual Environmental Revolution

Thursday, June 30th, 2011 at 1:00 PM

New York State Department of Health, District Office, Canton, New York USA

Donald L. Hassig will give a five minute dance performance titled,
“Everyone Who Cares Joining into the Good Environmental Revolution
Being Cancer Hazard Advisories Late in the Days of Cancer Epidemic in
the USA”.  This performance highlights the song, “If Everyone Cared”
by Nickelback.

“Cancer is almost always caused by exposure to environmental
chemicals.  If we want to reduce rates of cancer we must target
reducing exposure to those chemicals best known to cause human cancer.
In my judgment POPs are the most dangerous contaminants and there are
clear steps than can be taken to reduce exposure.”-David O. Carpenter, MD

Earlier this month, the New York State Cancer Consortium released a
draft 2011-2016 NYS Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan.  None of the
goals and objectives of the Draft  Cancer Plan address pollutant
carcinogen exposure reduction.  The only matters of chemical
carcinogenesis addressed in the Draft Cancer Plan are exposure to
cigarette smoke and radon.  The Draft Cancer Plan merely promulgates
the corporate position that exposure to pollution is not a significant
source of cancer causation.  This corporate position has no scientific
basis.  Corporations in the chemicals, agricultural, mining and
manufacturing sectors of the economy seek to misinform the public
regarding pollutant exposure cancer risk so as to continue to avoid
responsibility for the cancers caused by the chemicals that they
release into the environment as pollutant discharges and that they
have used and continue to use in pursuit of their commercial
activities.

The political influence of corporations at the national and state
levels of government results in corporate control of the activities of
federal government and state government public health entities.
Thus, we have the Draft Cancer Plan that the corporations want.  It
exists for the purpose of deceiving New York State residents concerning
the role of pollutant carcinogen exposure in cancer causation.The Draft
Cancer Plan is an example of bad corporate behavior and bad government
behavior.  It should be rejected by the people of New York State.

A vast body of scientific knowledge exists on the subject of pollutant
exposure carcinogenesis.  The current scientific knowledge is sufficient to
support the publication of cancer hazard advisories for numerous chemical
carcinogens.  The New York State Department of Health was created by New
York State government for the purpose of protecting public health.  The New
York State Department of Health is responsible for providing warnings of the
existence of avoidable health hazards to New York State residents.  The New
York State Department of Health has failed to publish and disseminate cancer
hazard advisories despite the existence of the scientific knowledge that
supports such action.

The New York State Cancer Consortium and the New York State Department
of Health control production of the Draft Cancer Plan.  Mark Cronin,
an employee of the American Cancer Society is chair of the New York
State Cancer Consortium’s Steering Committee. Leslie Larsen is an
employee of the New York State Department of Health.  She is the
Director of the New York State Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.
These two people exert total control over the content of the Draft
Cancer Plan.  They should be held accountable for their decisions not
to make use of existing scientific knowledge on the subject of
pollutant carcinogen exposure cancer risk in the creation of the Draft
Cancer Plan.  The Draft Cancer Plan demonstrates the lack of integrity
and honesty that exists in those employees of the New York State
Department of Health and the American Cancer Society who are
responsible for the content of the draft document.

If the Draft Cancer Plan had been created by people who were committed
to the use of scientific knowledge for the purpose of preventing
cancer, the document would have included cancer hazard advisories for
persistent organic pollutants (POPs), carcinogenic metals and
emissions from combustion of fossil fuels.  The total lack of content
on the subject of pollutant carcinogen exposure reduction is a public health
outrage…

“Cancer Action NY strongly protests the lack of content on the subject of
pollutant carcinogen exposure reduction in the Draft 2011-2016 NYS
Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan.  We will endeavor to make the people of
the State of New York aware of the failures of the New York State Department
of Health and the American Cancer Society to produce a Draft Cancer Plan
that uses scientific knowledge to reduce cancer risk imposed by exposure to
pollutant carcinogens…”-Donald L. Hassig

A list of the goals of the Draft Cancer Plan and a list of the objectives
associated with the Health Promotion and Prevention goal of the Draft Cancer
Plan are available on the internet site named below.

http://preventcancernow.wordpress.com

Media contacts:

David O. Carpenter, MD, Director
SUNY Albany Institute for Health and the Environment

Donald L. Hassig, Director
Cancer Action NY

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, Ecology, Environment, events, green, health, nature, new york, New York State Politics, News, public health, sustainability, sustainable Tagged: | American Cancer Society, cancer and pollution, Cancer Consortium, cancer prevention, chemicals, cigarette smoke, dancing at the DOH, Don Hassig, Draft Cancer Plan, environmental news, Leslie Larsen, Mark Cronin, NY politics, NY State, NYS Cancer Consortium, NYS Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan, NYSDOH, persistent organic pollutants, pollutant carcinogen exposure reduction, pollution, POPs, radon, radon exposure, why do so many people have cancer