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A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substances are considered carcinogens, but their carcinogenic activity is attributed to the radiation, for example gamma rays and alpha particles, which they emit. Common examples of non-radioactive carcinogens are inhaled asbestos, certain dioxins, and tobacco smoke. Although the public generally associates carcinogenicity with synthetic chemicals, it is equally likely to arise from both natural and synthetic substances. Carcinogens are not necessarily immediately toxic; thus, their effect can be insidious.
Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff). It may be used in combination with ultraviolet light therapy. Industrially it is a railroad tie preservative and used in the surfacing of roads. Coal tar was listed as a known human carcinogen in the first Report on Carcinogens from the U.S. Federal Government, issued in 1980.
Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid catalytic cracking tar, and ethylene cracking in a limited supply of air. Carbon black is a form of paracrystalline carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, albeit lower than that of activated carbon. It is dissimilar to soot in its much higher surface-area-to-volume ratio and significantly lower polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. However, carbon black can be used as a model compound for diesel soot to better understand how diesel soot behaves under various reaction conditions as carbon black and diesel soot have some similar properties such as particle sizes, densities, and copolymer adsorption abilities that contribute to them having similar behaviours under various reactions such as oxidation experiments. Carbon black is used as a colorant and reinforcing filler in tires and other rubber products; pigment and wear protection additive in plastics, paints, and ink pigment. It is used in the EU as a food colorant when produced from vegetable matter (E153).
Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP or B[a]P) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and the result of incomplete combustion of organic matter at temperatures between 300 °C (572 °F) and 600 °C (1,112 °F). The ubiquitous compound can be found in coal tar, tobacco smoke and many foods, especially grilled meats. The substance with the formula C20H12 is one of the benzopyrenes, formed by a benzene ring fused to pyrene. Its diol epoxide metabolites, more commonly known as BPDE, react with and bind to DNA, resulting in mutations and eventually cancer. It is listed as a Group 1 carcinogen by the IARC. In the 18th century a scrotal cancer of chimney sweepers, the chimney sweeps' carcinoma, was already known to be connected to soot.
Sawdust is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling and routing. It is composed of very small chips of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable power tools or by use of hand tools. In some manufacturing industries it can be a significant fire hazard and source of occupational dust exposure.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also collects and publishes surveillance data regarding the occurrence of cancer worldwide.
IARC group 2A agents are substances and exposure circumstances that have been classified as probable carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This designation is applied when there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans, as well as sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some cases, an agent may be classified in this group when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans along with sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals and strong evidence that the carcinogenesis is mediated by a mechanism that also operates in humans. Exceptionally, an agent may be classified in this group solely on the basis of limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans.
IARC group 2B substances, mixtures and exposure circumstances are those that have been classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as This category is used when there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. It may also be used when there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In some instances, an agent, mixture or exposure circumstance for which there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans, but limited evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals together with supporting evidence from other relevant data may be placed in this group.
IARC group 3 substances, chemical mixtures and exposure circumstances are those that can not be classified in regard to their carcinogenicity to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This category is used most commonly for agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which the level of evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans and inadequate or limited in experimental animals. Exceptionally, agents (mixtures) for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans, but sufficient in experimental animals may be placed in this category when there is strong evidence that the mechanism of carcinogenicity in experimental animals does not operate in humans. Agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances that do not fall into any other group are also placed in this category.
Occupational lung diseases comprise a broad group of diseases, including occupational asthma, industrial bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiolitis obliterans, inhalation injury, interstitial lung diseases, infections, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These can be caused directly or due to immunological response to an exposure to a variety of dusts, chemicals, proteins or organisms. Occupational cases of interstitial lung disease may be misdiagnosed as COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or a myriad of other diseases; leading to a delay in identification of the causative agent.
In molecular genetics, a DNA adduct is a segment of DNA bound to a cancer-causing chemical. This process could lead to the development of cancerous cells, or carcinogenesis. DNA adducts in scientific experiments are used as biomarkers of exposure. They are especially useful in quantifying an organism's exposure to a carcinogen. The presence of such an adduct indicates prior exposure to a potential carcinogen, but it does not necessarily indicate the presence of cancer in the subject animal.
Calcium chromate is an inorganic compound with the formula CaCrO4, i.e. the chromate salt of calcium. It is a bright yellow solid which is normally found in the dihydrate form CaCrO4·2H2O. A very rare anhydrous mineral form exists in nature, which is known as chromatite.
Sodium chromate is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CrO4. It exists as a yellow hygroscopic solid, which can form tetra-, hexa-, and decahydrates. It is an intermediate in the extraction of chromium from its ores.
A co-carcinogen is a chemical that promotes the effects of a carcinogen in the production of cancer. Usually, the term is used to refer to chemicals that are not carcinogenic on their own, such that an equivalent amount of the chemical is insufficient to initiate carcinogenesis. A chemical can be co-carcinogenic with other chemicals or with nonchemical carcinogens, such as UV radiation.
Erionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that belongs to a group of minerals called zeolites. It usually is found in volcanic ash that has been altered by weathering and ground water. Erionite forms brittle, wool-like fibrous masses in the hollows of rock formations and has an internal molecular structure similar to chabazite. Some properties of erionite are similar to the properties of asbestos; however, erionite is not currently regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and there are no occupational exposure limits for erionite fibers. Erionite was first described by A.S. Eakle in 1898, as white woolly fibrous masses in cavities in rhyolite lava near Durkee, Oregon. It was originally thought to be another relatively rare zeolite named offretite, which is very similar to erionite in appearance and chemical composition.
Dibenz[a,h]anthracene or Benzo[k]tetraphene or 1,2:5,6-Dibenzanthracene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C22H14. It is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) made of five fused benzene rings. It is a fused five-ringed PAH which is common as a pollutant of smoke and oils. It is stable and highly genotoxic in bacterial and mammalian cell systems, as it intercalates into DNA and causes mutations.
Dibenz[a,j]anthracene or Benzo[m]tetraphene or 1,2:7,8-Dibenzanthracene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C22H14. It belongs to the class of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and is formed whenever there is incomplete combustion of organic matter. The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) has classified it as possibly carcinogenic to humans, grouped into IARC group 2B.
Cancer is caused by genetic changes leading to uncontrolled cell growth and tumor formation. The basic cause of sporadic (non-familial) cancers is DNA damage and genomic instability. A minority of cancers are due to inherited genetic mutations. Most cancers are related to environmental, lifestyle, or behavioral exposures. Cancer is generally not contagious in humans, though it can be caused by oncoviruses and cancer bacteria. The term "environmental", as used by cancer researchers, refers to everything outside the body that interacts with humans. The environment is not limited to the biophysical environment, but also includes lifestyle and behavioral factors.
Lorenzo (Renzo) Tomatis was an Italian physician and experimental oncologist who researched carcinogenesis and its primary prevention
Occupational cancer is cancer caused by occupational hazards. Several cancers have been directly tied to occupational hazards, including chimney sweeps' carcinoma, mesothelioma, and others.
References
- ↑ "List of Classifications, Agents classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–124". IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Risk to Humans. IARC. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ↑ "IARC monographs preamble (as amended in 2019)" (PDF). International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Retrieved August 18, 2023.
A cancer hazard is an agent that is capable of causing cancer, whereas a cancer risk is an estimate of the probability that cancer will occur given some level of exposure to a cancer hazard.
- ↑ "List of Classifications – IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans". monographs.iarc.who.int. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
- ↑ "IARC Strengthens Its Findings on Several Carcinogenic Personal Habits and Household Exposures" (Press release). International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Retrieved August 1, 2014.
November 2, 2009 ‐‐ IARC has updated the cancer assessments of several personal habits and household exposures that cause cancer, including tobacco, areca nut, alcohol, and household coal smoke. The update was conducted with the advice of 30 scientists from 10 countries who met at IARC in October 2009. [...] The Working Group concluded that acetaldehyde associated with alcohol consumption is carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) and confirmed the classification in Group 1 of alcohol consumption and of ethanol in alcoholic beverages.
- ↑ "IARC: Diesel Engine Exhaust Carcinogenic" (Press release). International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Retrieved August 14, 2016.
June 12, 2012 ‐‐ After a week-long meeting of international experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), today classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer
- ↑ "IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat" (PDF). Retrieved 26 October 2015.