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Latest News | News Archive

03.29.2008 Silent Spring Institute scientist quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's article about EPA's "kid's risk" program
03.20.2008 Julia Brody comments on the Breast Cancer Fund's State of the Evidence - download podcast
03.11.2008 Silent Spring Institute's research on Cape Cod ponds reflects national concerns over pharmaceutical contamination in drinking water sources
02.26.2008 Silent Spring Institute chosen to receive EPA environmental education grant
02.01.2008 "Is Your Furniture Making You Sick?" - article in February issue of the Oprah Magazine cites Silent Spring research
01.23.2008 Silent Spring Institute researchers to call attention to the burden of chemical exposures at the Women's Health Forum Jan. 23rd at MA Statehouse
01.17.2008 New research finds some wood floor finishes are a likely source of PCB exposure
12.27.2007 Canadians build on Silent Spring Institute household exposure study
12.13.2007 Gristmill, a popular blog for enviro news, reports the hopeful spirit of the environmental justice meeting of NIEHS grantees hosted by Silent Spring Institute
12.07.2007 Turner Designs donates fluorometer to Silent Spring Institue in support of our drinking water initiatives
12.05.2007 Silent Spring Institute to join Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition at the MA State House for the opening of the exhibit "Communities, Chemicals, and the Pollution Within"
11.28.2007 Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy recommends Silent Spring Institute in its progress report
11.18.2007 Silent Spring Institute cited in Boston Globe's list of "84 Ways You Can Help the Planet"
11.17.2007 Health and environment link- Silent Spring Institute's health and environment mapping tool highlighted by the Cape Cod Times
11.15.2007 Cape Cod Times covers scientific update for Cape Cod community on recent research projects
11.01.2007 Silent Spring Institute, MA Breast Cancer Coalition, and University of MA - Lowell announce new breast cancer prevention research initiative
11.01.2007 Barnstable Town Manager John Klimm will host a public meeting to update citizens
on Silent Spring Institute’s recent research projects
10.08.2007 Channel 5 covers Silent Spring Institute research on everyday products and breast cancer
10.2007 October's Elle Magazine highlights Silent Spring Institute's mammary carcinogens review database
10.2007 Cape Cod Coordinator, Cheryl Osimo, and Silent Spring Institute featured in Pink Magazine
09.17.2007 Silent Spring research on chemicals and breast cancer featured on msn.com
08.02.2007 "Ponds Checked for Cancer Link" -- Cape Cod Times reports on Silent Spring Institute research
08.01.2007 Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study cited in Scienceline's article Wading in Hormones
07.12.2007 Against the Tide: Chase stays focused on ‘the wake-up call'
06.08.2007 NPR's Living on Earth cites Silent Spring Institute research on mammary carcinogens
06.01.2007 The journal Science features Silent Spring Institute's science review database
05.14.2007 Ruthann Rudel, Senior Scientist, talks with Pacifica Radio about the 'Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer' published in Cancer
05.14.2007 "Common chemicals linked to breast cancer" - Los Angeles Times
05.08.2007 Thank you to the supporters of the SILENT SPRING INSTITUTE DINNER on May 8th
05.04.2007 Cape Cod Times publishes Kerrys' highlight of Silent Spring Institute's Cheryl Osimo as a 'new environmentalist'
04.14.2007 'Cleaning agent tied to abnormalities', Silent Spring Institute's Cape Cod study cited
04.20.2007 Silent Spring Institute researchers to present on Endocrine Disruptors and Breast Cancer: The Cape Cod Study and Beyond
04.18.2007 Rachel Carson Was Right - Executive Director, Julia Brody, presented at Brown University’s Celebration of Rachel Carson’s 100th Birthday
04.13.2007 Silent Spring published 45 years ago this week
03.24.2007 Breast Cancer, the Environment & Communities of Color ~ informational forum at Communities for a Better Environment
Winter 2007 MassHEIS praised as a model system in the journal of the Environmental Council of the States
01.08.2007 Silent Spring Institute's Health and Environment mapping website featured by the Standard-Times of New Bedford
12.12.2006 Silent Spring Institute detections of pesticide residues in homes were cited by Boston residents who call for more exposure monitoring
12.09.2006 Preview NO FAMILY HISTORY, a documentary film about environmental links to breast cancer, featuring Silent Spring Institute
11.07.2007 Silent Spring Institute tested a new method for statistical analysis of correlations in environmental data
10.24.2006 Press Release: No Link Identified between Breast Cancer and Historical Markers for Drinking Water Contamination
10.24.2006 National Geographic features Silent Spring Institute's California partners as leaders in efforts to understand health effects of pollution
08.08.2006 New results published in Environmental Science & Technology: Septic Systems Contaminate Groundwater with Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals in Human Waste
06.14.2006 Press Release: What’s In The Air You Breathe? New Study to Measure Pollution Inside, Outside Area Homes - Communities for a Better Environment holds forum for residents to learn more
05.31.2006 Press Release: New, Web-Based Tool Maps Statewide Cancer Rates,
Pesticide Use, and Pollution Patterns- Allows Users to See Town-Specific Data
05.18.2006 No 'smoking gun' ID's by breast cancer study
05.16.2006 Cape cancer study finds carcinogens unabated
05.13.2006 Forum reveals breast cancer study results
05.01.2006 Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study GIS data available through ArcWeb Services
01.01.2006 "Clearing the Air: How To Avoid Indoor Air Pollutants" -- The Green Guide features Silent Spring Institute's research
09.2005 Silent Spring Institute researchers quoted in the Green Guide article: 10 Ways to Avoid Reproductive Hazards
07.21.2005 Silent Spring Institute’s partners at Communities for a Better Environment in California won new protections against air pollution from oil refineries
06.18.2005 "Silent Spring to continue interviews" Cape Cod Times
06.01.2005

Press Release: Feedback sought from women in breast cancer study
What was it like learning about toxins in their homes? As research grows increasingly personal, researchers look for most responsible, effective means of delivering results

06.2005 "The Other Side of Pink" Hartford Courant
04.08.2005 "Advocates want state to adopt European beauty standards” The Cape Codder
04.07.2005 “Local projects labeled ‘pork’” MetroWest Daily News
04.2005 “10 ways to reduce your exposure to chemicals’” Consumer Reports on Health
03.25.2005 “Dust study shows toxins are right under our noses” The Salem News
02.20.2005 “Chemical concerns” Editorial, Cape Cod Times Sunday Edition
01.25.2005 “Female scientists take on claims” MetroWest Daily News
01.12.2005 “PBDEs in dust and dryer lint” Environmental Science & Technology
12.09.2004 "Testing the limits" - Cape Cod Times Health Feature
11.25.2004 "Silent Spring receives $350,000 federal grant" - The Cape Codder
11.18.2004 "Tests find toxins in Cape homes' air" - Boston Herald
11.17.2004 "Cape women to see toxin results" - Cape Cod Times
11.17.2004 Press Release: Cape Cod women learn contaminant levels in homes
10.05.2004 Massachusetts local newspapers report on testing for pollutants in house dust
09.14.2004 Press Release: Hurricane Voices continues commitment to groundbreaking environmental research
08.09.2004 "How sick is your home?" - Business Week
06.21.2004 Keeping Chemicals out of the Home - read the Boston Globe letter to the editor by Ruthann Rudel, Senior Scientist
06.04.2004 "Breast cancer rate increasing" - The Cape Cod Times reports on the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition's event Conversation with the Cape Cod Community, featuring a presentation by Dr. Julia Brody.
05.21.2004 AROUND THE HOUSE: San Francisco Chronicle quotes Silent Spring research on household exposures.
03.2004 Boston Women's Business profiles Silent Spring Institute's innovative research.
02.05.2004 'Pervasive chemicals' editorial in the Cape Cod Times points to Silent
Spring Institute's Household Exposure Study in calling for new research on
health effects of everyday exposures to chemical mixtures.
01.24.2004 'Hair Dyes and Cancer' letter to the editor of the New York Times by Dr. Julia Brody

News Archive

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Ponds on Cape tainted by pharmaceuticals
The Cape Cod Times, March 11, 2008

By Cynthia McCormick

Active ingredients in prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies are finding their way into Cape ponds as well as drinking supplies across the nation, according to scientists.

But county labs don't yet test for pharmaceutical traces in drinking water, and scientists are just beginning to study what their presence means and how to filter them out.

"We're at the tip of the iceberg on this whole issue," said Tom Cambareri, water resources manager for the Cape Cod Commission.

for more: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080311/NEWS/803110317/-1/NEWSLETTER100

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Two Mass. Groups Selected for $54K in EPA Environmental Education Grants
Environmental Protection Agency, Release date: 02/26/2008

Contact Information: Laura Poirier, (617) 918-1079 Kristen Conroy, (617) 918- 1069

(Boston, Mass. – Feb. 26, 2008) - Two Massachusetts education organizations were recently awarded a total of $54,075 in EPA environmental education grants. The Appalachian Mountain Club received $15,000, and the Silent Spring Institute received $39,075.

“Education is a central tool in raising awareness about our environment,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England Office. “By helping students learn more about our environment, we help develop citizen awareness about how to address needs for a clean and healthy environment.”

for more: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/224829fb7febe2df852573fb0054c6b2?OpenDocument

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Is Your Furniture Making You Sick? Toxins can hide in bookcases, shower curtains, and ol clocks. Scary, but protecting yourself is simple.

The Oprah Magazine, February 2008

not available online

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House dust: toxic and on your table
The Globe and Mail, December 27, 2007

by Carly Weeks


Ottawa — Forget lead paint in toys. Canadians may be exposed to a much wider variety of metals, chemicals and pesticides on a daily basis as the result of a seemingly harmless domestic nuisance: house dust. It's a potential health hazard that scientists are only beginning to understand.

(no longer available online)

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84 Ways You Can Help the Planet
The Boston Globe, November 18, 2007

By Meaghan O'Neill

Sure, big ideas like generating electricity from ocean waves or legal limits on carbon emissions are important to slowing global warming. But the little things count, too. Here are some ways that you can make a difference.

For more: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2007/11/18/84_ways_you_can_help_the_planet/

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Web site shows health, environment link
The Cape Cod Times, November 17, 2007

By Robin Lord

Want to know what pesticides were used in your neighborhood and when, or where the highest incidence of prostate cancer, or other types of cancer are on Cape Cod? The Silent Spring Institute's Massachusetts Health and Environment Information System is an interactive Web mapping service that brings together health, environmental and demographic data. It allows people in the state to investigate links between the environment and health.

For more: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071117/NEWS/711170317

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Silent Spring will expand cancer probe
The Cape Cod Times, November 15, 2007

By Robin Lord
STAFF WRITER

BARNSTABLE — A number of Cape homes studied by the Silent Spring Institute six years ago had high levels of dangerous chemicals lingering in the dust and air, many of which are known carcinogens. But the Newton-based research group that is looking into environmental causes of breast cancer had never compared those levels with homes elsewhere in the state — until now.

For more: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NEWS/711150322

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UMass Lowell to study link with breast cancer and environment
The Lowell Sun, November 1, 2007

Sun staff report

LOWELL -- UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan said that $250,000 in state money will establish research that hopefully will provide answers between the possible links of breast cancer and environmental exposures.

The research will be conducted at UMass Lowell and done in conjunction with the Silent Spring Institute and the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition.

(no longer available online)

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Breast Cancer: Environmental Link?
Groundbreaking Silent Spring Study Under Way
The Boston Channel, October 8, 2007

Kelley Tuthill

BOSTON -- Women in the United State face a greater lifetime risk of breast cancer than any previous generation, but only about 5 percent have a genetic link, so most people will never know why they developed this disease.

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that there are serious questions about whether chemicals we are exposed to everyday play a role.

for more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/14291871/detail.html

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I'm Radioactive
Elle Magazine, October 2007

By Rachael Combe

Even if most breast cancer is caused by the envionment and lifestyle, it may be preventable.

(not available online)

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A climate for cancer: What effect does the environment have on the rise in breast cancer?
Pink Magazine, October 2007

By Mary Anne Dunkin

Looking back, Cheryl Osimo isn't surprised that she developed breast cancer. As a teenager she worked alongside her younger brother - who has since died of colorectal cancer - at the dry cleaning business her parents owned.

(not available online)

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Breast Cancer and Your Environment: What can you do to protect yourself from breast cancer?
MSN Health & Fitness, September 17, 2007

By Francesca Lyman

There may be no two scarier words for women than breast cancer.

The most common invasive malignancy among women around the world, breast cancer’s rates during the last several decades have nearly tripled in the United States. Today, this cancer is the leading cause of death in U.S. women in the prime of their lives—between their late 30s and early 50s.

for more: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/breast-cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100170477

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Ponds checked for cancer link
The Cape Cod Times, August 02, 2007

By Amanda Lehmert
STAFF WRITER

FALMOUTH — Silent Spring Institute researchers were out on three Cape ponds this week to test whether the waters have been tainted by hormone-disrupting chemicals leaching from area septic systems.

The research follows an institute study published last year that showed the chemicals, as well as natural estrogen, could leach from septic systems into groundwater, Cape Cod's main source of drinking water.

The work is part of Silent Spring's long-term study of potential environmental causes of breast cancer.

for more: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070802/NEWS/708020308

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Wading in Hormones
Feminized fish: Susceptible victims of a changing aquatic environment or harbingers of worse to come?
The Cape Cod Times, August 01, 2007

By Andrea Anderson

Male fish taking on female characteristics. A community plagued by high breast cancer rates. Waterways polluted by manure from animal feedlots. These phenomena may seem unrelated, but some researchers suspect they share a common link: hormone pollution.

for more: http://scienceline.org/2007/08/01/environment-anderson-water_hormones/

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Against the Tide: Chase stays focused on ‘the wake-up call'

Against the Tide: Chase stays focused on ‘the wake-up call'

The Cape Codder
, Jul 12, 2007

By Jen Ouellette

Third in a series leading up to the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition’s Cape fund-raiser Against the Tide in August.

Fighting cancer is a difficult battle at any age. Seventy-two-year-old Jane Chase of Harwich doesn’t show any scars after winning her fight – twice.

It was Christmas 1991 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After losing her mother to pancreatic cancer when she was just 21 years old, Chase’s mind raced with her images. “Of course, my first thought was that my mom had passed away so young at 59 and I was 57 [at the time of diagnosis], I was afraid that was what was going to happen to me and all my family. I just thought I don’t want to die with this at this young age like my mom did,” Chase recalls.

for more: http://www.townonline.com/brewster/news/x1181170589

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Cancer-Causing Chemicals
Living on Earth, Air Date: Week of June 8, 2007

A recent meta-study published by the American Cancer Society suggests that over 200 chemicals found in everyday products cause breast cancer in animals. Devra Lee Davis is director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Dr. Davis tells Living on Earth's Steve Curwood about the evidence that links environmental factors to breast cancer and how reducing exposure can help prevent women from getting the disease.

For more: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=07-P13-00023&segmentID=3

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NETWATCH: The Breast Cancer List
Science, June 1, 2007

French fries, car exhaust, and shampoo have one thing in common: They can contain breast cancer-causing compounds. To find out more about suspect chemicals and lifestyle factors, including obesity, implicated in breast cancer, check out this new two-part database from the Silent Spring Institute, a women's health nonprofit based in Newton, Massachusetts.

For more: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol316/issue5829/r-samples.dtl#316/5829/1261c

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Pacifica Radio

Ruthann Rudel, Senior Scientist, talks with Pacifica Radio about the 'Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer' published in Cancer

(no longer available online)

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Common chemicals linked to breast cancer; Of the 216 compounds, many are in the air, food or everyday items
Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2007

By Marla Cone

"Overall, exposure to mammary gland carcinogens is widespread," the researchers wrote in a special supplement to the journal Cancer. "These compounds are widely detected in human tissues and in environments, such as homes, where women spend time."

"Animal models are the primary means of understanding and anticipating effects of chemicals in humans," they wrote. "All known human carcinogens ... are also carcinogenic in animals."

"When you look at their list of chemicals, we are exposed to all of it," [Ana Soto] said. "We know humans are exposed to mixtures, and studying mixtures is very difficult. We will never have the whole picture, and it will take many, many years to collect epidemiological evidence, so we should take some preventive measures now."

For more: visit Los Angeles Times online

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Osimo a 'new environmentalist'
The Cape Cod Times, May 4, 2007

By SEN. JOHN KERRY and TERESA HEINZ KERRY

For anyone who has ever dismissed environmentalists as "out-of-touch elitists," it's time to meet the "new environmentalists—" people like Cheryl Osimo of Cape Cod.

A former elementary school teacher with two children, Osimo helped create the Silent Spring Institute — an environmental organization that has made stunning discoveries about the links between toxic chemicals and cancer on Cape Cod.

For more: http://www.johnkerry.com/2007/5/5/a-tribute-to-cheryl-osimo

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Cleaning agent tied to abnormalities
Newsday, April 14, 2007

By Delthia Ricks

Scientists are suggesting a common cause for two seemingly unrelated events, the feminization of fish in Jamaica Bay, where the former 50-50 male-to-female ratio has all but disappeared, and enlarged breast in young boys.

The common facto: endocrine disruptors, chemicals found in detergents, cosmetics and other products of daily living that increasing numbers of scientists now believe play havoc with normal hormone activity.

(no longer available online)

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ECOStates: The Journal of the Environmental Council of the States
Spring Meeting: Perspectives, Winter 2007

The Massachusetts Health and Environmental Information System (MassHEIS) is an example of how mapping can enhance access at the community as well as research level. This web-based tool, developed by Silent Spring Institute in cooperation with the National Library of Medicine, assembles data pertaining to the Institute’s Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study as well as other sources. Users can view preassembled maps or explore relationships of data of their own choosing. MassHEIS is a model for building environmental health mapping and data integration systems.

For more: http://www.ecos.org/files/2645_file_ECOStates_Winter_2007.pdf

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INSIDE SCIENCE: Mapping environmental health and justice
The Standard-Times, January 8, 2007

By Autumn Spanne

Julia Brody is executive director of the Silent Spring Institute, a research and advocacy organization founded to investigate links between the environment and women's health. The institute recently launched an online computer mapping program called the Massachusetts Health and Environmental Information System (MassHEIS). This high-tech tool gives the public access to a range of information about polluting industries in every Massachusetts community. Dr. Brody talks about how, with a few clicks of the mouse, anyone can use the program to explore and take action on local environmental health problems.

For more: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-07/01-08-07/02opinion.htm

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Non-Scientists Report on Biomonitoring
90.9 WBUR, By Allan Coukell

BOSTON, Mass. - December 12, 2006 - An unusual group of Boston residents is calling for more monitoring of the chemicals in our bodies.

Their report, released yesterday, is an attempt to dig through the entrenched positions of environmentalists, scientists and the chemical industry -- and give a voice directly to lay people.

WBUR's Health and Science reporter Allan Coukell explains.

For more: http://www.wbur.org/news/2006/63062_20061212.asp

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National Geographic features Silent Spring Institute's California partners as leaders in efforts to understand health effects of pollution
The National Geographic, October 2006

Chemicals Within Us

By David Ewing Duncan

Modern chemistry keeps insects from ravaging crops, lifts stains from carpets, and saves lives. But the ubiquity of chemicals is taking a toll. Many of the compounds absorbed by the body stay there for years—and fears about their health effects are growing.

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0610/feature4/index.html

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No 'smoking gun' ID'd by breast cancer study
Barnstable Patriot, May 18, 2006

By Kathleen Manwaring

There is no identifiable single cause of elevated breast cancer levels on Cape Cod, but the cause of fighting the disease with information and activism continues.

(no longer available online)

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Cape cancer study finds carcinogens unabated

Cape Cod Times, May 16, 2006

By ROBIN LORD

HYANNIS - The high levels of dangerous chemicals breast cancer researchers found in some Cape Cod homes five years ago have not lessened over time, a follow-up study has found.

Chemicals known to cause tumors in animals or disrupt the hormone activity of humans persisted in levels higher than what is reccomended by the Environmental Protection Agency in some of the 120 Cape homes studied by Silent Spring Institute of Newton.

(no longer available online)

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Forum reveals breast cancer study results
Cape Cod Times, May 13, 2006

By ROBIN LORD

BARNSTABLE - Cape Cod residents for the first time can learn the conclusions of a follow-up
study on the possible links between household chemicals and breast cancer.


At a forum sponsored by the Silent Spring Institute and the Massachusetts Breast Cancer
Coalition Monday night, a panel of local and state experts will give an overall update on the
Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study. The forum is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the
Barnstable Senior Center.

(no longer available online)

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Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study GIS data available through ArcWeb Services
May 2006

Technical users may now download or interactively access the Silent Spring Institute Cape Cod Breast Cancer and the Environment Study geographic information systems (GIS) data via ArcIMS web services. The Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study examines an area of elevated breast cancer incidence and investigates the links between increased breast cancer risk and exposures to mixtures of target environmental pollutants in wastewater and pesticides. Follow this link for instructions:

http://library.silentspring.org/heis/help/faqs_connect.asp#ESRI

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"Clearing the Air: How To Avoid Indoor Air Pollutants" -- The Green Guide features Silent Spring Institute's research
Green Guide 112, January/February 2006

by Emily Main

When the weather outside is frightful and the fire inside delightful, it's so tempting to curl up on the couch and avoid the nasty winter air. But after a few hours, you may feel the beginnings of a dull headache, perhaps a raspy throat or a stuffy nose, maybe a little nausea. You might think it's just another bout of flu or common cold, but if the symptoms persist, they may actually be due to allergens, irritants or toxins you're inhaling indoors. ...

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=112&s=air

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Silent Spring Institute researchers quoted in the Green Guide article: 10 Ways to Avoid Reproductive Hazards
Green Guide, September-October 2005

(article no longer available without subscription)

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New emission rule for Bay Area refineries
New York Times, July 21, 2005

by Carolyn Marshall
San Franciso, California air regulators on Wednesday adopted a rule, the first of its kind in the nation, intended to reduce sharply the fiery flares and excess gas emissions vented from oil refineries in the Bay Area.

(no longer available online)

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Silent Spring to continue interviews
Cape Cod Times, June 18, 2005

Cape news in brief

(no longer available online)

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The Other Side of Pink
Hartford Courant
, June 2005

Wear a pink ribbon.

Clip your rose bushes with pink-handled pruners, sip coffee that comes in a pink package, slip on a pink T-shirt and run in a race, and you feel good.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/hc-pink.artmay29,0,5696259.story?page=1&coll=hc-headlines-northeast

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Advocates want state to adopt European beauty standards
The Cape Codder, April 8, 2005

(no longer available online)

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Local projects labeled 'pork'
MetroWest Daily News, April 7, 2005

Restoring a pond, providing services for disabled students and alleviating traffic congestion may not seem like inappropriate spending to some, but a watchdog group yesterday labeled these federally funded MetroWest projects as pork-barrel spending. The 15th edition of the ...

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=95139

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10 ways to reduce your exposure to chemicals
Consumer Reports on Health, 17(4), April 2005

Silent Spring Institute's Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment study is featured in this report on many common household products containing potentially hazardous ingredients and how to cut your risk..."One ominous finding, Dr. Spengler reports, is that chemicals such as phthalates, disinfectants, adhesives, and pesticides can pervade the home. He and investigators at the Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit environmental research group, identified 66 such chemical compounds in the dust and 52 in the air inside 120 homes in Cape Cod, Mass. The detected concentrations exceeded government health-based guidelines for 15 of 39 compounds. No guidelines were available for the other compounds, the team reported in an October 2003 issue of Environmental Science and Technology."

(not available online)

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Dust study shows toxins are right under our noses
The Salem News,
March 25, 2005

(no longer available online)

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Chemical concerns, editorial
Cape Cod Times Sunday Edition, February 20, 2005

(no longer available online)

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Female scientists take on claims
MetroWest Daily News, January 25, 2005

The controversy surrounding a Harvard University official's comments about the obstacles women face in math and science professions set off a firestorm last week, but the issue is hardly new for women who work in those fields. Although his exact words at a recent academic c...

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/health/view.bg?articleid=88498


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PBDEs in dust and dryer lint - Science News
Environmental Science & Technology, January 12, 2005

Research recently posted to ES&T’s Research ASAP website provides the strongest hypothesis to date for the source of the very high levels of brominated flame retardants being found in the blood and breast milk of U.S. residents. Heather Stapleton of the National Institute of Standards and Technology says the study also shows that young children in the most contaminated homes may be ingesting enough polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are suspected to be endocrine disrupters, from dust to raise public health concerns.

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2005/jan/science/kb_dust.html

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Testing the limits: Four years after samples were drawn, results from local homes show reasons to be concerned
Cape Cod Times, Health Feature, December 9, 2004

By Robin Lord
SOUTH HARWICH - After Jane Chase was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991, she swept her house clean of toxic chemicals and made an effort to live a healthier lifestyle.

When the cancer came back in 2000, she became even more vigilant about what she let into her house, and her body.

So she was shocked to learn last month that some scary chemicals are still lurking in her marshside home in South Harwich.

Results from Silent Spring Institute's Household Exposure Study flagged a higher than expected level of a chemical so toxic it was banned for use in textile flame retardants in the 1970s.

(no longer available online)

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Silent Spring receives $350,000 federal grant
The Cape Codder, December 4, 2004

Silent Spring Institute has received $350,000 in federal funds to continue its work in linking environmental pollutants to human health, particularly breast cancer.

The grant was announced last week by Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry and Congressman William Delahunt, who supported the funding measure.

more at http://www2.townonline.com/brewster/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=139508

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Tests find toxins in Cape homes' air
Boston Herald, November 18, 2004

By Thomas Caywood

SURVIVOR: [Jane Chase] of South Harwich, who has battled breast cancer twice, received a scary letter yesterday from the Silent Spring Institute that described the results of scientific tests for toxic chemicals in her home. Herald photo by Julia Cumes

"We found DDT in two-thirds of the homes," said Julia Brody, principal investigator of the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study. "DDT was banned in 1972 so it's been there for 30 years. That's a real lesson to us about putting chemicals into use before we understand the ramifications."

(no longer available online)

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Cape women to see toxin study results
Cape Cod Times, November 17, 2004

By Robin Lord
One hundred Cape Cod women who opened their homes to Silent Spring Institute researchers two years ago to test for the presence of toxic chemicals will learn today the kinds and levels of chemicals that were found.

The information comes two years after the institute's Household Exposure Study, which collected air, dust and urine samples in an equal number of homes of women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life, and those who had not.

(no longer available online)

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Massachusetts local newspapers report on testing for pollutants in house dust
The Daily News Transcript, October 5, 2004

(no longer available online)

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How sick is your home? - Indoor air pollution -- from mold to radon -- presents health risks
Business Week, August 9, 2004

By Stephanie Anderson Forest

Nobody wants environmental hazards such as toxic-waste dumps or smokestacks bellowing gritty plumes in their backyards. But the same sorts of pollutants that come from these sites could be lurking right in your home. Indeed, it can be teeming with allergens, such as dust mites. Carbon monoxide can escape from fireplaces, mold and bacteria often funnel through muck-filled heating, ventilation, and cooling systems, and volatile organic chemicals seep out of paint and carpets. Scientists have also found that even innocuous household products, such as air fresheners, can become dangerous when their fumes react with ozone and create carcinogens, such as formaldehyde. ...

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/04_32/b3895118_mz070.htm

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Keeping Chemicals out of the Home - SSI's Senior Scientist, Ruthann Rudel, writes to the editor of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe, June 21, 2004

THANKS FOR putting PBDEs, the flame retardants suspected of causing learning and reproductive effects, on the front page where this critical health issue belongs ("Fire retardants' effects arouse safety debate," June 14). In the only comprehensive study of exposure to PBDEs in US homes, the Silent Spring Institute found levels in Cape Cod homes 10 times higher than in European homes, where these chemicals are being phased out. ...

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2004/06/21/keeping_chemicals_out_of_the_home/

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Breast cancer rate increasing
Cape Cod Times, June 4, 2004

By Robin Lord
BARNSTABLE - The incidence of breast cancer is "going in the wrong direction," Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition President Beverly Baccelli told a group of about 150 people at the Barnstable Senior Center last night.

The crowd had gathered to hear the first public update in two years from the only research group in the country that is focusing on the environmental health of women, Silent Spring Institute.

(no longer available online)

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AROUND THE HOUSE:
Indoor air pollution; Home is where the hazard is; Indoor toxins may be worse for you than outdoor smog.
San Francisoco Chronicle,
May 19, 2004

Homes may be hazardous to your health.

Frying chicken at the stove, spraying ants with insecticide, taking a hot shower, plugging in a room freshener, or sudsing the rug with detergent -- all these release chemicals that swirl around rooms like invisible dust devils.

Household products, furnishings and cosmetics release vapors and particles that people can inhale or absorb through the skin. Then there are the pollutants that are tracked into the house from outside or allowed to waft through open windows that add to the hazard. Plunking down on a sofa, vacuuming the rug or making the bed stirs up the chemical-laden dust.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/19/HOGDC6LU141.DTL

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Prevention Is Basis for Julia Brody’s Work in Breast Cancer Research
Boston Women's Business, March 2004

Julia Brody became Silent Spring Institute’s executive director when the Newton nonprofit and its Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study were new, and in the next eight years she’s led its prevention-oriented research to groundbreak-ing national renown. From getting the study on solid footing to moving it forward, the principal investigator has helped pioneer uncharted connections between the environment and women’s health. Far from done, she’s both excited and frustrated by the pace of progress in preventing disease through new research methods and increased aware-ness.

http://library.silentspring.org/news/bostonwomensbusiness.pdf

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'Pervasive chemicals' editorial from the Cape Cod Times
Cape Cod Times, February 5, 2004

"Few of the 87,000 manmade chemicals found in the United States have been tested for health effects.

Ever since the publication of Rachel Carson's watershed book, "Silent Spring," in 1962, Americans have been asking tough questions about the possible long-term health effects of manmade chemicals...

But what about thousands of other chemicals that surround us everyday, in everything from cosmetics to furniture?

...[C]hemicals known to cause tumors in animals or disrupt the hormone activity of humans were found in all of the 120 Cape homes studied by the Silent Spring Institute of Newton and Cape Cod.

In a two-year household exposure study, researchers found that 67 of the 89 toxic chemicals they were looking for were present in varying amounts in the Cape homes." To read more...

(no longer available online)

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SSI's Dr. Julia Brody writes to the editor of The New York Times regarding 'Hair Dyes and Cancer'
The New York Times, January 24, 2004

To the Editor:

In response to a Yale study showing an association between the older dark hair dyes and cancer (news article, Jan. 24), the vice president for science at the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association dismisses the research because it is observational rather than clinical. A clinical study would select a representative group of women, randomly assign half to use the dyes and half to abstain, and wait more than 20 years to see how many get cancer.

If that is the industry's standard of proof, it should do that study before it markets its products.

JULIA G. BRODY
Newton, Mass., Jan. 24, 2004

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E3DB1538F93BA15752C0A9629C8B63

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