-
- VICTORIA, B.C. - A medical
researcher at the University of Victoria says there appears to be a strong
link between cancer and road salt. And Prof. Harold Foster says we are
spreading the stuff on our streets at our peril.
-
- Hundreds of thousands of tons of road salt are used every
winter across the country to keep roads free of ice. The salt eventually
washes into the water table. That horrifies Foster.
-
- Using data from the United States, he compared various
types of cancers with more than 200 possible causes. He says the strongest
correlation in areas where people were dying from cancer, was with road
salt.
-
- Foster theorizes that a substance used to keep the road
salt from caking is the culprit.
-
- And its not just road salt we need to worry about. Foster
says some forest fire-retardants carry the same anti-caking agent. It's
not known how many tons of that make their way into our water supply.
-
- Foster says he's glad the federal government is considering
a ban on road salt. In the meantime, he says its imperative that more
comparative studies be done.
|
