Shipley, Wood address Iowa cancer concerns

This is the first in a two-part series about Saturday’s Legislative Coffee.

Local state representatives celebrated Valentine’s Day with their constituents Saturday as Creston held its first Legislative Coffee of the year.

Though Senator Tom Shipley and Representative Devon Wood shared information on the many bills the Iowa Senate and House are working on, a main topic of conversation was Iowa’s high cancer rates.

Held at the Restored Depot, Legislative Coffee allows constituents to anonymously ask questions of their local politicians, with topics being drawn randomly from a basket. One question connected Iowa cancer rates to farming chemicals.

“The cause is farmers’ chemicals - is that an absolute certainty? Is that an absolute proven certainty? No, let’s be very clear about that,” Shipley said. “Iowa also has one of the largest smoking rates; Iowa also has a lot of radon in our soil, and also binge drinking, exposure to the sun, a lot of these things.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, Iowa ranks second in the U.S. for cancer incident rates, with overall number rising. While farm chemicals have not been proven to to cause cancer, Shipley said that idea is being researched.

“We put $1 million and have more money than that coming to the University of Iowa to do studies on that,” Shipley said. “We’re trying to get a handle on it because even those people will say we don’t definitively know why.”

Wood also suggested the state and federal governments may have already banned what is causing many cancers, but research won’t know for a few years due to possibly slow-reacting cells.

“We go back and forth about every time we solve something, well, maybe it wasn’t that because, guess what, we still have cancer. I think it’s a combination of microplastics, PFAS, BPA, radon,” Wood said. “Obviously, different chemicals can cause different growth rates in cellular situations and I’m sure agriculture and lawn care of residential properties also has a hand in chemical usage as well.”

Keeping water clean

Wood said keeping these chemicals out of drinking water was imperative to Iowans’ health. However, instead of making inflammatory statements to farmers about this, those worried should offer help. While Iowa has a number of conservation easements available to protect water sources, Wood said farmers can sometimes get frustrated jumping through hoops and doing paperwork to complete a project.

“If you’re willing to come with a few dollars and a few friends that say, hey, I’d help you seed down a grass seed waterway,” Wood said. " Buying grass seed isn’t that expensive in comparison to someone having to go through months of paperwork to do a federally or state-funded program, potentially.”

Even for farmers whose land is not connected to a drinking water source, Wood said it’s important to keep any water clean.

“For me and my property, our water does not lead into any drinking source for any people, but my cows drink out of it,” Wood said. “I absolutely want it to be safe for them, and that’s also affecting my bottom line too. I have not only a feel-good incentive because I know I’m doing the right thing, but I have a monetary incentive too.”

Shipley seconded the protection of Iowa’s waterways.

“I tell farmers every time I’ve got a bunch of them together, you guys can do better. Buffer strips are a big deal along streams. It’s not that hard,” Shipley said. “You can enroll that in [conservation reserve programs] and get paid for that ground you have for those buffer strips. Buffer strips are proven to be probably one of the most effective ways to curtail any other stuff getting into the stream.”

Though originally frustrated at the question, Shipley said he gets where the worry is coming from.

“I understand people’s concerns. I have some very, very dear friends of mine that are dealing with cancer right now. I do not dismiss it,” Shipley said. “I have three colleagues in the Senate that are dealing with cancer right now. I have one that died last fall of cancer. I do not dismiss this, but I think we’re looking for easy answers when there are none.”

Radon testing in Iowa

One way to lower the risk of cancer is to avoid radon, a colorless and odorless gas found in many older homes. Iowa is a partner with the American Lung Association to provide free radon testing kits to Iowa residents. Information on how to get a free testing kit can be found at www.lung.org/ia/radon-in-iowa.