According to a new study led by scholars at Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Massachusetts, some occupations frequently held by immigrant women living in the United States have a higher risk of exposure to chemicals linked to breast cancer.
Using data from the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample, the authors determined which occupations are most prevalent for immigrant women in the United States. They then cross-referenced that information with data on occupational chemical exposures from the Women’s Occupations and Risk from Chemicals tool.
The authors found immigrant women – particularly those with lower educational attainment and limited English-speaking ability – are most likely to work as house cleaners, nurses, cashiers, janitors, care aides, and manicurists, with house cleaners and nurses facing the highest levels of exposure to breast cancer-relevant chemicals.
Additionally, many of the chemical exposures identified in the study are also linked to several common chronic diseases, including other cancers. Based on these findings, the authors call for future research on breast cancer risk factors among immigrant women, particularly in the understudied area of occupational exposure.
In addition to those from Silent Spring Institute, the authors included scholars from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley.