/oss/taxonomy/term/6824/all en /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/awash-carcinogens <p>Sir Percival Pott took an interest in the scrota of men. Particularly chimney sweeps. Pott was an eminent surgeon who in 1775 published a seminal paper that for the first time identified an environmental factor as a cancer-causing agent. He had observed an unusually high incidence of scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps and noted that soot was commonly embedded in the lesions. This led Dr. Pott to conclude that exposure to soot was a risk factor for cancer. He was correct! Soot contains a number of chemicals that have been identified as carcinogens.</p> Wed, 12 Apr 2023 16:56:17 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9476 at /oss