A doctor has told a federal government committee that there is a link between pesticides and breast cancer.

Dr. Nicole Bruinsma was testifying before the House of Commons committee on the environment on behalf of the Canadian Public Health Association. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.

The CPHA is a non-profit group comprised of health professionals concerned about disease prevention and health protection.

Bruinsma says she has found evidence from studies of lab animals to humans, exploring links between rates of cancers and pesticide exposure.

Bruinsma says the human body has been invaded by at least 500 chemicals in the last 80 years. She warns persistent organic pollutants accumulate and concentrate in fatty tissue, especially female breasts.

Doctors say breast cancer could be caused by a variety of factors such as environment, diet or genetic predisposition. Women have been told to eat diets low in fat, high in fibre, to stop smoking and to cut down on alcohol consumption.

Bruinsma blames the presence of pesticides for the disease. She points to studies of Inuit in the Arctic who have high levels of contaminants in their tissue and breast milk. They absorb these through the food they eat: whale and seal fat. It means the whales and seals are getting it from the food they're eating, too.

"There are no unexposed groups left in the world," said Bruinsma.

Some evidence indicates women who have breast cancer have 50 to 60 per cent higher levels of organochlorines in tissues than women without breast cancer.

Organochlorines are chemicals made from chlorine. That includes everything from bleach to plastics, deodorants, paints, wood preservers, pesticides and cleaning solvents.

A 1998 study by the Deep South Centre for Environmental Justice found that black families who live close to chemical plants had much higher rates of cancer than people in non-polluted areas. The families lived in poverty-stricken areas near the Mississippi River.

Canada was the first country in 1998 to sign a United Nations treaty outlawing the 12 most toxic chemicals, including PCBs, dioxin and DDT. They are no longer made or used in this country.

However, as some health advocates maintain, these chemicals are used in other countries from which Canada imports food.

Bruinsma estimates up to 70 per cent of new cases of breast cancer are not connected to genetic risk factors.