Chemicals causing cancer: Few of them listed below

Ammonia

Ammonia in air pollution may increase the risk of salivary gland cancer

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a strong tumor-creating gas, as the article below indicates. The reason why it causes brain tumors is because it is one of the few chemicals that can cross the “blood-brain” barrier that protects the brain from most toxic chemicals

Nickel

Nickel dust breathed into the nasal passages and lungs causes cancer. Nickel is used in the manufacture of alkali batteries, ceramics, coins, and other products. It is also used as a catalyst in the hydrogenation process for fats and oils. In order to keep fats like soybean and cottonseed oil from turning rancid through oxidation , hydrogen gas is bubbled through these heated oils to bond with the sites on the oil molecules that would normally be filled by oxygen atoms. This creates a product that has a much longer shelf life and is more solid . The most important fact to remember about nickel is that it is a “reducing” agent.

Nitrosamines

Nitrosamines are found in foods such as bacon, beer, and in tobacco products. They are formed when chemicals like sodium nitrite are added to foods to prevent botulism, which is a deadly form of food poisoning. These nitrites are converted into nitrosamines when they react with amines, which are organic derivatives of ammonia. Many types of nitrosamines exist and about 90% of them have been found to be carcinogenic in a wide variety of animals in the lab. The carcinogenic activity of nitrosamines can be prevented by the addition of vitamin C.

Free radicals

Free radicals are extremely reactive molecules with unpaired electrons. They can damage DNA and cause wrinkling, premature aging, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E prevent free radicals from exerting their damaging effects.

Smoking

Smoking is a well-known risk factor for cancers of all kinds (not just lung cancer). There are approximately forty-three known carcinogens in cigarette smoke.

Radiation

Radiation of high frequency can penetrate cells. If it strikes a section of DNA on the way through, the energy changes involved can easily damage the structure, causing mutations which lead to cancer.

Genetics

Cancer can be the result of a genetic predisposition that is inherited from family members. It is possible to be born with certain genetic mutations or a fault in a gene that makes one statistically more likely to develop cancer later in life.