Texas Department of State Health Services Releases Flower Mound Study

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Texas Department of State Health Services Releases Flower Mound Study

The Town of Flower Mound received a report on March 24, 2010 from the Texas Department of State Health Services indicating there was no evidence of a cancer cluster in Flower Mound. The report, dated March 8, 2010, outlines the results of a 2010 cancer rate study the agency conducted in Flower Mound. The report and a related Texas Department of State Health Services press release are attached for your review.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services report and press release:

Since benzene has been shown to have an association with leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the investigation studied Childhood Lymphoid Leukemia, Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In addition, Childhood Brain/CNS Cancer and Breast Cancer were included in response to separate requests.
The chances of a person developing cancer as a result of exposure to an environmental contaminant are slight. Most experts agree that exposure to pollution, occupational, and industrial hazards account for fewer than 10 percent of cancer cases.
It takes time for cancer to develop, between 10–40 years can go by between the exposure to a carcinogen and a diagnosis of cancer.
There was a slight elevation of female breast cancer, which is consistent with the population growth in the area and likely higher mammography use compared to Texas overall. Currently, research does not show a link between breast cancer risk and environmental pollutants, and there isn’t any established scientific link between breast cancer and benzene, the contaminant of chief concern to the Flower Mound community.

Posted 03/24/2010.