The WHO has estimated that environmental exposures contribute to 19% of cancer incidence worldwide. 6 Additionally, a WHO Global Health Risks report looked at five environmental exposures, (unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene, urban outdoor air pollution, indoor smoke from solid fuels, lead exposure and climate change), and estimated they account for nearly 10% of deaths and disease burden globally and around one quarter of deaths and disease burden in children under the age of five. 7 The connection between pollution, notably toxic substance pollution, and human health has long been made in the developed world. Incidents such as Love Canal, a hazardous waste.
