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Air Pollution and Human Cancer pp 49–61Cite as

Experimental Evidence for the Carcinogenicity of Air Pollutants

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Part of the book series: ESO Monographs ((ESO MONOGRAPHS))

Abstract

The role of air pollution in human lung cancer has been difficult to assess or quantitate due to the many confounding exposures and factors that influence human cancer (see Chapter 5). This is especially true for cancers of the respiratory tract where the vast majority of cancers have been related to cigarette smoking. Much of our understanding of the potential human risk from air pollution is derived from experimental cancer studies on both individual chemicals and mixtures of air pollutants [1]. This chapter discusses the experimental evidence for the carcinogenicity of air pollutants in long-term animal cancer studies and from short-term bioassays. The evidence is organised and discussed in 3 categories of exposures: (a) individual chemicals found as air pollutants (e.g., formaldehyde); (b) mixtures emitted from air pollution sources (e.g., automotive emissions); and (c) mixtures of air pollution taken from ambient air (e.g., urban air particulate matter).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA

    Joellen Lewtas

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  1. Joellen Lewtas
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150, cours Albert-Thomas, 69372, Lyon Cedex 08, France

    Lorenzo Tomatis

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lewtas, J. (1990). Experimental Evidence for the Carcinogenicity of Air Pollutants. In: Tomatis, L. (eds) Air Pollution and Human Cancer. ESO Monographs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75906-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75906-2_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-75908-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75906-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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