cancer clusters
Localized tumor outbreaks
Cancer clusters are geographic areas or time periods where cancer cases occur at rates higher than expected.
The term usually describes local phenomena—a neighborhood, workplace, or school where unusual numbers of people develop cancer: Residents demanded an investigation into the suspected cancer cluster near the chemical plant.
Determining whether clusters result from environmental causes, coincidence, or statistical artifacts often proves difficult and contentious.
- epidemiologyStudy of disease spread
- public healthCommunity-level disease prevention
- leukemiaMalignancy of blood-forming tissues
- birth defectsAbnormalities present from delivery
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
toxic waste · toxic · plumes · incidence · hotspots · pollution · carcinogens · childhood · groundwater · industrial · statistics · environmental · industrial sites · neighborhoods · exposure · illness · rates · investigation
- toxic tortsmesothelioma, asbestos exposure, lead poisoning, silicosis, Agent Orange
- Environmental Justiceenvironmental racism, environmental rights, environmental policy, climate justice, social equity
- Pollution Lawair pollution, water pollution, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, EPA
- SuperfundSuperfund, Superfund sites, EPA, hazardous waste, remediation
- environmental harmair pollution, water pollution, pollution, oil spills, acid rain
- public healthdisease prevention, immunization, disease control, health education, epidemiology