Insecticide Lindane found to cause Cancer

A common insecticide has been found to cause cancer in humans, according to a World Health Organization review. The product, Lindane, was once widely used in agriculture and continues to be found in some treatments for head lice and scabies. The WHO concluded today that the substance is carcinogenic and specifically said that exposure to the chemical could increase the risk of the rare immune cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, by 60%.
Although agricultural use of the chemical is heavily restricted in Britain, consumers may still be exposed through foods imported from some developing countries, where it continues to be used in agriculture.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also said that the insecticide DDT, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, “probably causes cancer”, after finding evidence that it could increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), testicular cancer and liver cancer.
Lindane has been banned or restricted in most countries since 2009 under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. It was previously used extensively for insect control in agriculture and continues to be used in some developing countries. DDT is also banned in the UK and US.