Is light pollution contributing to cancer rates?

Yes

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by Corban M. Burns

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"Light pollution, also known as photo-pollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light." This is how it is defined in the Webster Dictionary. Many metropolitan cities have this problem on their hands. But, some believe light pollution is more of a nuisance than a risk to our health.

It is true that there are no medical studies that currently provevia hard core evidencethat light pollution can cause cancer. Nevertheless, there are numerous other health problems that are due to excessive exposure to bright lights, either in closed or enclosed atmospheres.

1. Increased headaches.

2. Excessive fatigue

3. Medically defined chronic stress

4. Increased anxiety

5. Elevated blood pressure

(1) All can agree that we are faced with enough issuesa bad economy, job security, mortgage payments, and whether or not you will have insurance from work the next day. However, several interesting studies have shown the link between the bright lights and severe headaches.

(2) The fatigue experienced by many office workers if often contributed to the fluorescent lights used in many buildings. The effects are usually subtle. But in one case it took over 3 months for the fatigue to set in. More importantly, it restricted the office manager to a hospital bed for one week. Researchers have not yet establish nor identified the substance or ingredient within the fluorescent lights that causes this fatigued reaction.

(3) One of the most serious effects of exposure to bright lights is the medically defined chronic stress. Most are aware of that chronic stress is potentially damaging to the body and even the mentally. Features of chronic stress include:

upset stomach
ulcers
headach e
backache
insomnia
anx iety
depression
anger
h ypertension
hemorrhoi ds varicose veins
People who have experienced the effects of medically defined stress have been to say that they will never be the same. Research shows that for some people the bright lights puts the mind through a semi-traumatic experience and the results of that vary from person to person.

(4) Anxiety comes from all directions today. We get it from our peers, bosses, parents, kids, household responsibilities and the list goes on. But have you ever thought of the anxiety you could get from just sitting under bright lights too long? Interestingly, the average office worker spends two-thirds of the day under fluorescent light bulbs. The effect is your body, particularly the brain, begins to work harder, faster. Though this seems to be a positive effect, the brain is actually in a hyper-active mode. Therefore, you will most likely find that your day to day problems are often blown out of proportion, leading to extra anxiety.

(5) A medical team of researchers in Los Angles, California completed a study in later 2008. Their research led to some highly interesting discoveries. Common levels of fluorescent lighting in offices are sufficient to elevate blood pressure by about eight points, per month. Just think, by the end of the year, if not sooner, you could be in serious need of a hospital!

A chapter in Journal of the National Cancer Institute brings out an eye-opening point. It says that doctors have found "a possible link to exposure to lightparticularly at nightand the risk of breast cancer, due to the suppression of the normal nocturnal productive of melatonin." No wonder, there was a slight outbreak of breast cancer in a hospital just outside of Miami, Florida. Surprisingly, those breast cancer patients were the 35 female nurses that worked the night shift.

So while there isn't hard-core evidence of light pollution being a factor for breast cancer, I believe that we cannot afford to take chances. Not only will it do us good health wise, but think of the millions of dollars that could be saved if people cut off the lights. It's something to think about.

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