Naval Divers Cancer Cluster

13 Industrial Solid Waste (ISW) and Municipal Waste Leachate 

Leachates from ISW and municipal solid waste (MSW) sites contain complex mixtures of toxic chemicals. These include heavy metals (iron, nickel, zinc, manganese, chromium, cadmium, and lead) as well as numerous organic compounds (including aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and pesticides). Specific compositions of leachates vary with pH, soil type, and specific chemicals contained in the sites. All ISW and MSW sites, however, leach toxic mixtures of chemicals. 

In one study, leachates from a polyfiber factory, an aeronautical plant, and a municipal sludge site were all shown to induce DNA damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The authors of the study conclude that synergistic effects of the mixtures of chemicals in the leachates may be responsible for the DNA damage. 38 Similar cytotoxic effects were observed in studies where animals were exposed to ISW 39 and MSW 40 leachates. These studies underscore the dangers posed to ISW and MSW workers, as well as to people who are exposed to leachates that infiltrate drinking water. 

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Naval divers in Israel train in the Kishon River. Pollution in the Kishon River ranks among the highest in the world, reaching levels close to those in the Rhine, Alba, and Po rivers. Divers who have trained in these waters form a cancer cluster of multiple cancers that are not only far in excess of cancers in the general population, but also have very short induction periods. I24 The cancers found in the divers include... 

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