Latest occupational cancer news
Australia Payout after skin cancer death
Britain Former Lucas worker seeks cancer help
Britain Cancer-linked pesticides used in schools
South Korea Ex-Samsung workers seek cancer justice
Britain ‘Lamentable’ Shell fined after worker is paralysed
Britain Sellafield fined after radiation exposures
Britain Government lab done for cancer risks
Global Formaldehyde causes leukaemia too
France Environment a “huge” cancer factor
Britain Cricketers get skin cancer tests
Korea: Urgent action call on Samsung cancers
A cancer cluster is affecting young workers exposed to toxic chemicals at electronics manufacturer Samsung in Korea, union and safety campaigners have warned. A petition calling for Samsung to accept responsibility for the problem, compensate victims and remedy the health and safety problems is being circulated worldwide by Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry (SHARPs), the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), Asian Network for the Rights Of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV) and International Campaign for Responsible Technology (ICRT).
ANROAV news release • AMRC news release • Good Electronics news release • Sign the SHARPs petition • Global Unions cancer campaign • Risks 446
Hazards news,
6 March 2010
Australia: Payout after skin cancer death
A record six figure payout has been given to an Australian widow after her construction worker husband died at 43 from skin cancer. The family of construction worker Rohan Crotty – his 39 year-old wife Jo-Anne and four sons aged five and under – have been left in mourning after Rohan died in July last year within two years of being diagnosed with melanoma.
News.com.au • Risks 445
Hazards news,
27 February 2010
Britain: Former Lucas worker seeks cancer help
A Lancashire cancer survivor is urging his former work colleagues to come forward to provide information about his exposure to chemicals at work. Terry Burns, 51, who is being treated for bladder cancer, is calling for his former work mates at Lucas Aerospace to come forward to help piece together information about his working conditions.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Anyone who worked with Mr Burns at Lucas Aerospace from 1978 to 2000 and who may have useful information should contact Marion Voss on 08000 224 224 • Risks 445
Hazards news,
27 February 2010
Britain: Cancer-linked pesticides used in schools
At least four potentially cancer causing pesticides are being used in UK schools, placing staff and pupils at risk, according to a new survey. The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and Pesticides Action Network (PAN) snapshot of English, Welsh and Scottish school authorities also reveals that in addition to the four possible carcinogens – dichlobenil, oxadiazon, sulfosulfuron and mecoprop - seven of the pesticides used in schools may pose other serious health risks.
HEAL news release [pdf] and full survey report [pdf] • PAN UK
Hazards news,
23 January 2010
South Korea: Ex-Samsung workers seek cancer justice
A group of former Samsung Electronics workers and family members of deceased workers in Korea are suing a state labour welfare institute for failing to recognise cases of leukaemia they say were called by work. If their bid is successful, they would be eligible for state compensation.
Korea Times • Risks 439
Hazards news,
16 January 2010
Britain: ‘Lamentable’ Shell fined after worker is paralysed
Oil giant Shell and two of its contractors have been fined after “lamentable failings” led to a “totally avoidable” refinery incident that left a worker paralysed from the waist down. Shell UK Oil Products Ltd, Dalprop Ltd and Hertel UK Ltd were fined at Warrington Crown Court on 4 January for safety offences related to the 9 February 2007 incident at Shell’s Stanlow complex near Ellesmere Port.
HSE news release and video interview with Stephen and Jayne Rizzotti • Liverpool Daily Post • Wall Street Journal • The Times • Personnel Today • Risks 438
Hazards news,
9 January 2009
Britain: Sellafield fined after radiation exposures
The company that runs the Sellafield decommissioning operation has been fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £26,100 in costs after two contract workers inhaled radioactive material. The prosecution followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into an incident on 11 July 2007 at the Sellafield Nuclear Licensed Site in Cumbria.
HSE news release • Construction News • Risks 436
Hazards news,
12 December 2009
Britain: Government lab done for cancer risks
A government-run laboratory exposed workers to chemicals known to cause cancer without using any of the accepted health and safety controls. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Suffolk accepted a Crown Censure for health and safety breaches, the equivalent of a prosecution for a government body.
HSE news release [pdf] • Cefas news release • Lowestoft Journal • BBC News Online • Risk 435
Hazards news,
5 December 2009
Global: Formaldehyde causes leukaemia too
The cancer risks posed by formaldehyde, a common workplace chemical already accepted to cause certain types of occupational cancer, are greater than previously thought. A meeting last month of International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) experts determined that sufficient evidence also exists to link formaldehyde with leukaemia, a cancer of the blood or bone marrow.
IARC meeting highlights [pdf] and summary of evaluations [pdf] • Jennifer Sass’ NRDC blog • Fatal failings on formaldehyde, Burying the evidence, Hazards magazine, number 92, 2005 • Global Unions zero cancer campaign • BWI cancer prevention resources • Risks 432
Hazards news, 14 November 2009
France: Environment a “huge” cancer factor
Workplace and environmental exposures are a “huge” factor in the risks of developing cancer, an official French agency has said. Substances including tobacco, chemicals, asbestos and benzene in fuels are behind much of the rise in the incidence of cancers, according to the environmental and occupational health and safety agency Afsset.
ETUI-HESA news report and Afsset formaldehyde statement • Risks 414
Hazards news,
11 July 2009
Britain: Cricketers get skin cancer tests
Members of the Professional Cricketers’ Association are to receive regular screening for skin cancer. PCA, which represents the interests of players, organised the programme after one in seven county players were referred to specialists when potential melanomas were found during check-ups.
BBC News Online • Risks 407
Hazards news,
23 May 2009
Australia: Night nurses warn of health fears
For the first time, the life-threatening physical and psychological effects of shift work are being used to push for bigger pay packets for nurses and midwives in New South Wales, Australia. The NSW Nurses Association launched its claim in the Industrial Relations Commission this week, calling in experts to cite studies linking shift work with higher rates of breast cancer, heart disease, miscarriage, clinical depression and divorce.
NSWNA news release • Sydney Morning Herald • Risks 405
Hazards news,
9 May 2009
Britain: Sixth cancer death linked to university
A sixth person who worked in a Manchester University building used by Lord Rutherford, and contaminated by radiation and mercury, has died. Professor Tom Whiston, 70, a psychology lecturer, is the third to die from pancreatic cancer.
Manchester Evening News • BBC News Online • Global Unions cancer prevention campaign • Risks 405
Hazards news,
9 May 2009
Europe: Cancer warning on night work
A top UK occupational health researcher has warned that the UK authorities are lagging behind their Scandinavian counterparts when it comes to action on night work hazards, linked to cancer and other chronic health problems. Stirling University’s Professor Andrew Watterson said the problem was being neither properly recognised nor addressed in the UK.
BBC News Online and The Investigation radio show • The Scotsman • Telegraph • Daily Mail • The Guardian • Risks 398
Hazards news,
21 March 2009
Canada: Centre targets cancer prevention
A new research centre dedicated to identifying and eliminating exposure to cancer-causing substances in the workplace has opened in Toronto, Canada. Dr Aaron Blair, interim director of the new Occupational Cancer Research Centre said the new unit “is a major step in identifying carcinogens at workplaces and initiating preventive actions.”
Canadian Cancer Society news release • Toronto Star • Risks 397
Hazards news,
14 March 2009
Britain: Employers ‘ignoring’ cancer risks
A manufacturing body has urged employers to better assess health risks in the workplace and has conceded firms are ignoring occupational cancer risks. Steve Pointer, head of health and safety policy at manufacturers' body the EEF, admitted some firms were too complacent and failed to protect their employees.
Personnel Today • TUC occupational cancer guide [pdf] •Global Unions cancer prevention campaign and prevention kit • Risks 397
Hazards news,
14 March 2009
Britain: Official warning on nanotubes
The UK government’s workplace health and safety watchdog has called for “a precautionary approach” to the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) information sheet says: “If their use cannot be avoided, HSE expects a high-level of control to be used,” adding: “It is good practice to label the material ‘Caution: substance not yet fully tested.”
Risk management of carbon nanotubes, HSE information sheet, March 2009 [pdf] • Risks 397
Hazards news,
14 March 2009
Global: Warning on chemical cancers risk
A major report has warned that the global cancer burden has doubled in a generation and that too little attention is paid to potential occupational and environmental risks. The International Agency for Research on Cancer published its World Cancer Report 2008 last month.
World Cancer Report 2008, WHO/IARC [pdf] • IARC news release • Risks 396
Hazards news,
7 March 2009
Global: Warning on chemical cancers risk
A major report has warned that the global cancer burden has doubled in a generation and that too little attention is paid to potential occupational and environmental risks. The International Agency for Research on Cancer published its World Cancer Report 2008 last month.
World Cancer Report 2008, WHO/IARC [pdf] • IARC news release • Risks 396
Hazards news,
7 March 2009
Global: ConocoPhillips sued by cancer victims
Dozens of Norwegians, whose health was ruined working on the North Sea’s Ekofisk oilfield, are to take the giant oil company ConocoPhillips to court in the US. They believe the US multinational acted irresponsibly by not ensuring necessary maintenance and protection against chemicals which have resulted in cancer and other serious health problems.
Dagbladet.no • Risks 396
Hazards news,
7 March 2009
Canada: Alberta probes work cancer link
The Alberta Cancer Board is teaming up with the Canadian province’s government to develop a new long-term strategy to track and prevent deadly occupational diseases. Dr Fred Ashbury, the province’s vice-president responsible for population health, said international research suggests up to 20 per cent of cancer deaths are associated with exposures to harmful chemicals at work, adding: “Because we can actually prevent these cancers from occurring - if we know exactly where they are and what exposures people are facing, we have an obligation to do something.”
Calgary Herald • Risks 396
Hazards magazine,
7 March 2009
Global: Work cancers are misattributed to smoking
A new study suggests many lung cancers are routinely misattributed to smoking, when workplace and other exposures are to blame. Scientists have concluded much of the known much higher lung cancer rates in workers with less education cannot be explained by smoking.
JNCI media briefing • Gwenn Menvielle and others. The role of smoking and diet in explaining educational inequalities in lung cancer incidence, JNCI, volume 101, pages 321-330, 2009 • HESA news report • Hazards work cancer prevention kit and cancer webpages • Risks 396
Hazards news,
7 March 2009
Britain: Computer firms won’t chip in for cancer study
Britain’s top computer chip companies are refusing to spend less than the price of a couple of pints per employee to research the cancer risks in their industry. The UK’s multi-billion pound electronics industry, the world’s fifth largest with 25,000 employees, is defying the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and government who have asked the industry to contribute to the £600,000 report over four years.
UNITE news release • Risks 396
Hazards news,
7 March 2009
Britain: One in 10 carpenters 'face asbestos death'
One in 10 UK carpenters born in the 1940s will die of asbestos-related lung cancer or mesothelioma, researchers have predicted. The researchers calculated that men born in the 1940s who worked as carpenters for more than 10 years before they reached 30 have a lifetime risk for mesothelioma alone of about one in 17.
HSE news release • Occupational, domestic and environmental mesothelioma risk in the British population: a case-control study, British Journal of Cancer • UCATT news release • HSE hidden killer campaign • Daily Mirror news item and Asbestos Timebomb campaign webpage • BBC News Online • Risks 396
Hazards news, 7 March 2009
Britain: Factory staff at 'higher risk' of cancer
Scientists have uncovered higher rates of cancer at a rubber chemical plant in North Wales. Birmingham University researchers found that at least 10 people at Wrexham’s Flexsys factory in Cefn Mawr may have already suffered premature deaths as a result.
Daily Post • Evening Leader • BBC News Online •
Tom Sorahan and others. Cancer risks in chemical production workers exposed to 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, Online First Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2009. doi: 10.1136/oem.2008.041400 • Risks 390
Hazards news,
24 January 2009
Britain: Lafarge recalls cancer risk cement
Construction materials multinational Lafarge has recalled 280,000 bags of cement after discovering a batch contained high levels of cancer-causing chromium VI. In total, about 2,500 tonnes of the Blue Circle cement have been recalled.
Wiltshire Times • Contract Journal • Risks 388
Hazards news,
10 January 2009
Britain: Browned off at cancer rebuff
Campaigners who petitioned 10 Downing Street urging the prime minister to take action to prevent breast cancer have said they are “sorely disappointed with the response.” The petition raised concerns about the failure of leading cancer charities to recognise the environmental and occupational causes of breast cancer.
Cancer campaign news release • Petition and response • Risks 386
Hazards news,
13 December 2008
Italy: Study finds solvent cancer link
Exposure to the industrial solvent benzene increases a person's risk of developing multiple myeloma, according to new research. Adele Seniori Constantini of Italy’s Center for Study and Prevention of Cancer and her colleagues also found two other common workplace solvents in the same aromatic hydrocarbon group and often used as substitutes for benzene, xylene and toluene, were also tied to greater chronic lymphoid leukaemia risk.
Reuters • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008
Britain: Call for action on occupational cancers
Urgent government action is needed to avert the “major public health disaster” caused by occupational cancers, Stirling University researchers have warned. Writing in the European Journal of Oncology, Professor Andrew Watterson reports that more people die in Scotland from occupational cancers than from road accidents, murders and suicides combined.
University of Stirling news release • Andrew Watterson and others. Occupational cancer prevention in Scotland: a missing public health priority. European Journal of Oncology, volume 13, number 3, pages 161-170, 2008 • Hazards cancer resources • Sunday Times • Risks 382 •
15 November 2008
Britain: TUC calls for work cancer action
Employers who risk the future health of their employees by exposing them to cancer-causing chemicals at work should be prosecuted under UK safety laws, the TUC has said. The call came as the union body launched a campaign to raise awareness of the toxic chemicals and substances that can make workers ill sometimes years after leaving their jobs.
TUC news release • TUC occupational cancer guide [pdf] •Global Unions cancer prevention campaign and prevention kit • Risks 383 •
Hazards news 22 November 2008
Europe: Special report on occupational cancer
The latest newsletter of the European trade union health and safety think tank, HESA, includes a ‘Special report: Work-related cancers - Seeing through the smokescreen.’ The report includes details of French grassroots action against occupational cancers, asbestos litigation, using Google Earth to improve workplace conditions, cancers in Scotland’s Silicon Glen and an innovative Italian approach to addressing cancer risks.
HESA newsletter, No.34 • Global unions occupational cancer prevention campaign • Risks 380
Hazards news,
1 November 2008
Britain: Work cancer victim’s call for witnesses
A West Yorkshire cancer survivor is urging his former work colleagues to come forward to provide information about his exposure to chemicals at work. Michael Savage, 65, from Halifax was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2005 after working as as a maintenance fitter by ICI, at the Leeds Road, Huddersfield site from 1972 to 1977.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 378
Hazards news,
18 October 2009
Anyone who worked with Mr Savage at ICI Huddersfield during the 1970s or who was employed in the 824 Beta Nap building should contact Marion Voss on 08000 224 224.
Britain:
University radiation cancer probe begins
An occupational health specialist is to investigate a possible cancer
cluster in a Manchester University building. Professor David Coggon
from the Medical Research Council will carry out an independent review
of health risks at the university's Rutherford Building; the deaths
from cancer of five people have been linked with the building, which
is where Nobel prize-winning nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford experimented
with radon and polonium in 1908.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Europe:
Campaigners target worst chemicals
A coalition of environmental, consumer and union safety organisations
has published a ‘Substitute It Now!’ list of ‘high
concern’ chemicals. The aim of the ‘SIN List’ is
to speed up implementation of REACH, the new EU chemicals law, by
encouraging companies to make sound substitution decisions.
ETUI-REHS
news item • SIN
List 1.0 • ChemSec
• Substitution 1.0 – the art of delivering toxic-free
products [pdf]
• Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
USA:
Experts slam work cancer ‘manslaughter’
The US authorities are doing little to protect workers from occupational
cancer and as a result are “bystanders to industrial manslaughter”,
top experts have warned.
SUNY
Downstate Medical Center news release • The
Record • Industrial carcinogens: A need for action [pdf]
• Contributions
to the President’s Cancer Panel are available on the CHE website
• Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Leigh, 28,
succumbs to asbestos cancer
The asbestos cancer mesothelioma has claimed the life of Leigh Carlisle,
28. Leigh, who was featured in a global Zero Occupational Cancer Campaign
poster, died in hospital on 27 August, two years after being diagnosed
with the incurable condition.
Zero
Occupational Cancer Campaign website and poster
• Risks
372
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
New Zealand:
Employers can help prevent skin cancer
New Zealand researchers have shown that outdoor workers are more likely
to use sun protection measures if their workplace has a supportive
approach to the issue. A study by the University of Otago found that
outdoor workers who felt that their workplaces supported healthy behaviour
were more likely to protect themselves from excessive sun exposure.
Health
Promotion Journal of Australia • Risks
369
Hazards news, 16 August 2008
Britain:
PM urged to act on breast cancers
The prime minister is being asked to take action to prevent breast
cancers caused by occupational and environmental exposures. Breast
cancer campaigner Helen Lynn has launched an e-petition on the 10
Downing Street website.
Sign
the prevent breast cancer petition – it takes less than
a minute (UK residents only) • No
more breast cancer campaign and the Hazards
websites • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Australia: Board
sick thanks to formaldehyde
Tom Connelly knows all about the symptoms of sick house syndrome.
As a carpenter he comes into regular contact with the formaldehyde-rich
building materials that create health problems for residents. Construction
union CFMEU is campaigning for low formaldehyde building boards, to
protect workers from allergies, irritation and cancer risks.
Sydney
Morning Herald • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain:
Court challenge to cancer payouts
A nine-week battle started this week in the High Court and will see
insurance companies seek to evade liability for a large number of
asbestos compensation payouts. The court will decide whether insurers
are liable for damages from sufferers’ first exposure to asbestos,
or from when they become ill.
Unite
news release • The
Guardian • BBC
News Online • The
Times • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain:
UK bids to weaken formaldehyde standard
The UK government has attempted to undermine a proposed new European
exposure limit to protect workers from a chemical linked to allergies
and cancer. Commenting on new standards agreed by the European Commission’s
Advisory Committee for Safety and Health at Work, the European Trade
Union Confederation’s (ETUC) research arm, ETUI-REHS, reported:
“The German and British governments actively supported the formaldehyde
industry’s campaign, while the other governments were divided.”
ETUI-REHS
news report • Fatal
failings on formaldehyde, Burying the evidence, Hazards magazine,
number 92, 2005 • Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: New
occupational cancer resources
New resources on occupational cancer prevention have been made available
online.
Stirling
work cancer conference papers and CCOHS
work cancer recognition and prevention course • Global
Unions zero occupational cancers campaign • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain:
Court rules asbestos causes lung cancer
A High Court ruling has confirmed the lung cancer and asbestos link.
Although it has long been accepted asbestos causes lung cancer, proving
the link in court has been difficult because, unlike mesothelioma,
the condition can be caused by a wide range of other factors, including
smoking.
Irwin
Mitchell news release • John Shortell (executor of the estate
of John Joseph Shortell deceased and litigation friend of Eileen Shortell)
v BICAL construction Ltd (sued as successor to BIC Construction Ltd),
in the High Court of Justice (Queen’s Bench Division), Liverpool
District Registry, Case No: 7LV30059, 28 April – 1 May 2008
• Risks
357
Hazards news, 24 May 2008
Global: ‘Asbestos
warning’ on nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes might be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled, according
to a study. A paper in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology
reports that animal studies indicate that these long and very thin
carbon molecules could cause mesothelioma, a cancer previously associated
almost exclusively with asbestos exposure.
Craig A Poland and others. Carbon nanotubes introduced into the
abdominal cavity of mice show asbestos-like pathogenicity in a pilot
study. Nature
Nanotechnology Online 20 May 2008. doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.111
[abstract]
•
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies news release •
Risks
357
Hazards news, 24 May 2008
Global: Solutions
to the cancer epidemic
A new book, ‘Cancer: 101 solutions to a preventable epidemic,’
lays out a preventive response to cancer risks in a clear and accessible
manner. The Canadian publication shows how you can stop cancer by
eliminating the carcinogens in your home, your school, your community,
and your workplace and how you can work with others to make the world
safe for yourself and your children.
Cancer:
101 solutions to a preventable epidemic, Liz Armstrong, Guy Dauncey,
and Anne Wordsworth. ISBN 978 0 86571 542 4. £12. New Society
Publishers, Canada • Risks 356
Hazards news, 17 May 2008
Britain: Weed
killers cause work cancers
Common weed killers have been linked to cancers in exposed workers.
Claudine M Samanic and others. Occupational exposure to pesticides
and risk of adult brain tumors, American Journal of Epidemiology,
volume 167, pages 976-985, 2008 [abstract]
• Reuters on the brain
cancer risk • Katherine
A McGlynn and others. Persistent organochlorine pesticides and
risk of testicular germ cell tumors, Journal of the National
Cancer Institute, volume 100, pages 663-671, 2008 [abstract]
• Reuters on the testicular
cancer risk •
Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • Risks
355
Hazards news, 10 May 2008
Global:
New union push on work cancers
Union bodies worldwide are increasing the pressure for an end to workplace
cancer risks. Australian national union federation ACTU has launched
a zero cancer campaign and says more than 1.5 million workers may
be exposed to cancer-causing substances on the job without even knowing
it.
BWI
news release • Global
Unions occupational cancer prevention campaign • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Australia:
Union alert on formaldehyde cancers
Australia's biggest building union is calling on the federal government
to start an urgent investigation into the use of formaldehyde in household
products. CFMEU said formaldehyde poses a real cancer risk to workers
and must be subject to stringent laws.
CFMEU
news release • Atsuya Takagi and others. Induction of
mesothelioma in p53+/- mouse by intraperitoneal application of multi-wall
carbon nanotube, Journal of Toxicological Sciences, volume 33,
number 1, pages 105-116, 2008 [pdf]
• Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Computer
chip firms in cancer ‘fantasy’
The microelectronics industry is inhabiting an ‘Alice in Wonderland’
fantasy world when it comes to facing up to possible cancer risks
to its staff, the union Unite has warned. It is pressing for the UK
computer components and semiconductor industry to initiate industry-wide
research into the risks.
Unite
news release • Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain:
Study highlights cancer in hairdressers
Hairdressers probably face an increased risk of cancer because of
the dyes and other chemicals they work with, according to the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A Lancet Oncology report of
a IARC working group’s findings concludes. “Because of
the few supporting findings by duration or period of exposure, the
working group considered these data as limited evidence of carcinogenicity
and re-affirmed occupational exposures of hairdressers and barbers
as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’”
ETUI
REHS news report • Robert Baan, Kurt Straif, Yann Grosse,
Béatrice Secretan, Fatiha El Ghissassi, Véronique Bouvard,
Lamia Benbrahim-Tallaa, Vincent Cogliano, on behalf of the WHO International
Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph Working Group. Carcinogenicity
of some aromatic amines, organic dyes, and related exposures,
The Lancet Oncology, volume 9, number 4, pages 322-323, April 2008
• Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Lung
cancer survivor gets payout
A man who developed lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos in
the workplace has been compensated by his former employers. Widower,
Joseph Douglas, 66, from Ellesmere Port has received £65,000
in damages after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain:
Experts highlight spreading cancer risks
A global epidemic of preventable industrial cancers is killing hundreds
of thousands each year because governments and employers are failing
to take simple and effective preventive action. Top cancer prevention
experts and trade union officers and workplace reps from around the
world, meeting in Scotland later this month will reveal the full extent
of the problem and will call for the use of safer substances and processes
and a phase out of the worst cancer-causing culprits.
Stirling
University news release • Global
union zero cancer campaign •
Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Global: Studies
reveal neglected toll of work cancers
New studies have confirmed the numbers of workplace cancers has been
massively under-estimated. Investigators from Massey University's
Centre for Public Health Research in New Zealand say work-related
cancers affect between 700 and 1,000 people a year in the country
and kill 400 yet fewer than 40 cases a year are notified to the Labour
Department.
Sunday
Star Times • Massey
University research outline • Global
union zero cancer campaign • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
USA:
Pesticide exposure ups Parkinson’s risk
There is strong evidence that exposure to pesticides significantly
increases the risk of Parkinson's disease, experts have concluded.
A study of people with the neurological disease found that sufferers
were more than twice as likely to report heavy exposure to pesticides
over their lifetime as family members without the disease.
Dana B Hancock and others. Pesticide exposure and risk of Parkinson's
disease: a family-based case-control study, BMC Neurology, volume
8:6, 2008, doi:10.1186/1471-2377-8-6, abstract
and full paper [pdf]
• Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Australia:
Brain cancer linked to mobile phone use
A top Australian neurosurgeon has warned the world's heavy reliance
on mobile phones could be a major threat to human health. Vini Khurana,
who conducted a 15-month “critical review” of the link
between mobile phones and malignant brain tumours, said using mobiles
for more than 10 years could more than double the risk of brain cancer.
Mobile
phone-brain tumour, Public Health Advisory, www.brain-surgery.us
Sydney
Morning Herald • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Global: Conference
to work out work cancer solution
Occupational and Environmental Cancer Prevention - from research to
policy to action at international, national and workplace levels,
Friday, 25 April 2008, University of Stirling, Scotland.
Further information, including conference programme, contact details
and fees (including union reductions) •
Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
USA: Work cancer’s
deadly history
A new book says for much of its history, the USA’s cancer war
has been fighting the wrong battles, with the wrong weapons, against
the wrong enemies. ‘The secret history of the war on cancer’,
a heavyweight publication by US academic Devra Davis and described
in a Lancet review as “a rattling good read”, says while
campaigns have targeted the disease, they’ve singularly failed
to address the causes.
The secret history of the war on cancer. Devra Davis. ISBN
978 0 465 01566 5 2. £16.99. Basic
Books • Risks
345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008
Britain: More
evidence on wood dust cancers
Wood dust exposure at work greatly increases the risk of a range of
cancers, a study has found. A study has linked occupational exposure
to wood dust to “other upper aero digestive tract and respiratory
(UADR) cancers”, with the researchers finding “regular
wood dust exposure was associated with a statistically significant
increased risk of 32 per cent for all UADR cancers”.
Vijay Jayaprakash and others. Wood dust exposure and the risk
of Upper Aero-Digestive and Respiratory Cancers in males, Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, Published Online First: 8 January 2008.
doi:10.1136/oem.2007.036210 [abstract]
• Global
union zero cancer campaign • Occupational
and Environmental Cancer Prevention - from research to policy to action
at international, national and workplace levels, Friday, 25 April
2008, University of Stirling, Scotland. Further information, including
conference
programme, contact details and fees (including union reductions)
• Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008
Global:
Zero occupational cancer conference, 25 April, Scotland
As a contribution to the global trade union zero occupational cancer
campaign, an international conference will address a major threat
to public health: the toll taken by occupational and environmental
cancers. The 25 April event to be hosted by Stirling University, Scotland
and supported by unions in the UK and across the world, will feature
top union, campaign and academic experts from Australia, Belgium,
Canada, France, Finland, the UK and USA.
Occupational
and Environmental Cancer Prevention - from research to policy to action
at international, national and workplace levels, Friday, 25 April
2008, University of Stirling, Scotland
Further
information, including conference programme, contact details and
fees (including union reductions) • Risks
342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008
Britain:
Welder gets lung cancer payout
A former welder diagnosed with lung cancer after being exposed to
asbestos has been paid provisional compensation. The unnamed former
welder, 73, received the £20,000 payout after being diagnosed
with lung cancer in August 2006.
Global
unions zero work cancer campaign • Risks
340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008
USA: Work
cancer protection inadequate
A report produced by the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA), calls for tighter controls on chemicals including workplace
carcinogens. The report found 109 chemicals recognised in California
as cancer-causing are not regulated as occupational carcinogens, with
44 of these not even having a permissible exposure limit for the workplace.
Occupational Health Hazard Risk Assessment Project for California.
Complete OEHHA technical report [pdf]
• Executive summary [pdf]
• Risks
339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008
Europe: Patchy
progress on better Euro laws
Leading Socialist Euro MPs have celebrated European Parliament approval
this week of a report calling for new measures to protect the health
and safety of Europe's workers. They expressed shock, however, after
Conservatives and Liberals blocked inclusion of clauses calling for
action on crystalline silica, a cancer-causing substance to which
over 3 million workers in the European Union (EU) are routinely exposed,
and on nanotechnology risks.
European
Parliament resolution of 15 January 2008 on the Community strategy
2007–2012 on health and safety at work (2007/2146(INI))
• Risks
339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008
Europe:
Euro MPs call for work disease action
Euro MPs have called for measures to protect workers from a new generation
of health threats at work. The all-party European Parliament employment
committee wants a Europe-wide drive against cancer-causing exposures
in the workplace as well as measures to combat musculoskeletal disorders
such as back pain and repetitive strain injuries.
Socialist
Group of MEPs (PES) news release • HESA
news report • European Parliament Committee on Employment
and Social Affairs report [pdf]
• Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
Australia:
Action call on shiftwork cancer risk
One of Australia's biggest unions has called for a review of working
hours after an International Agency for Research on Cancer study found
people who work night shifts have a higher risk of contracting cancer.
AWU national health and safety officer, Yossi Berger, said the “frightening
report” had confirmed the union's worst fears, and added: “You
can earn a lot more money working these shifts but you may find yourself
using the money on a designer oxygen tent.”
AWU
news release • IARC news release [pdf]
• Global
union zero cancer campaign • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
Australia:
Firefighters welcome cancer action
A firefighters’ union in Australia has welcomed an official
investigation of the cancer risks linked to the job. The government
in Australia Capital Territory (ACT) – Australia has a state
as well as federal government system - is to set up a working group
to investigate possible links between escalating cancer rates among
firefighters and their workplace.
Canberra
Times • US
firefighters' union IAFF webpages on presumption laws in the US
and Canada • Global
union zero occupational cancer campaign
Hazards news, 22 December 2007
Britain:
Work lung cancer risks are not declining
If you thought workplace exposure to the dust, fumes and chemicals
that cause lung cancer was a think of the past you’d be wrong.
An international study “suggests that exposure to occupational
lung carcinogens is still a problem, with such exposures producing
moderate to large increases in risk.”
F Veglia, P Vineis, K Overvad and others. Occupational exposures,
environmental tobacco smoke, and lung cancer, Epidemiology, volume
18, number 6, pages 769-775, 2007 [abstract]
• Global
trade union occupational cancer/zero cancer campaign
Hazards news, 15 December 2007
Global: Shiftwork
linked to cancer
Shiftwork has been recognised officially as a “probable”
cause of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),
the cancer arm of the World Health Organisation, has said it will
classify overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen after evidence
was considered by a meeting of experts; IARC experts also ranked occupational
exposure as a painter as carcinogenic to humans and as a firefighter
as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
IARC news release [pdf]
• Kurt Staif and others. Carcinogenicity of shift-work, painting,
and fire-fighting The
Lancet Oncology, volume 8, number 12, pages 1065-1066, December
2007 • Findings to be published by IARC next year, Shift-work,
painting and fire-fighting, IARC monograph, volume 98 • Global
union zero cancer campaign
Hazards news, 8 December 2007
Britain:
Study exposes cancer control complacency
A disastrous failure by chemical firms and the Health and Safety Executive
to control one of the best known workplace carcinogens has been revealed
by an HSE survey. HSE assessed occupational exposures to the industrial
chemical MbOCA, which can cause bladder cancer and which has been
linked to other cancers, and found controls and personal protective
equipment (PPE) were inadequate, training was poor and exposure levels
were unacceptable.
HSE
publication alert • A survey of occupational exposure to
MbOCA in the polyurethane elastomer industry in Great Britain 2005-2006,
HSE [pdf]
• Global
union occupational cancer/zero cancer campaign
Hazards news, 1 December 2007
Global: ‘Obligation
to act’ on work cancers
Urgent action must be taken to address the toll of workplace and environmental
cancers, a new report has concluded. Researchers from the Lowell Center
for Sustainable Development in the USA who reviewed new evidence on
cancer risks, said their findings “demonstrate why environmental
and occupational cancers should be given serious consideration by
policymakers, individuals, and institutions concerned with cancer
prevention.”
Environmental and occupational causes of cancer: New Evidence,
2005-2007, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, 2007, executive
summary and full report [pdf]
• Toxic
Burdens Blog
Hazards news, 17 November 2007
Britain:
Cancer payout for asbestos hug woman
A Devon woman who developed an incurable asbestos-related cancer from
hugging her father as a child has settled a damages claim. The Ministry
of Defence (MoD), which owned Devonport Dockyard when Debbie Brewer's
father worked there in the 1960s, settled with a six-figure sum.
BBC
News Online • Daily
Mail
Hazards news, 17 November 2007
France: Action
call on work-related cancers
The authorities in the French district of Seine-Saint-Denis, north-east
of Paris, have issued a call for national action on work-related cancers.
The petition’s sponsors, which includes unions and high profile
officials of public, health, research and safety bodies, claim that
a manual worker between the ages of 45 and 54 is at four times greater
risk of dying from cancer than a same-age top manager.
ETUI-REHS
summary • Full
background and petition document (in French) • Global
union zero cancer campaign
Hazards news, 3 November 2007
Australia:
Neglected toll of workplace cancers
There is no mention of cancer caused by occupational exposure in Australia’s
national cancer prevention plan - it is instead focused on smoking,
obesity and melanoma. Labouring under the misapprehension that occupational
cancer in a modern economy is rare, or that occupational health and
safety regulations protect those exposed, governments have taken a
hands-off approach as 1.5 million Australian workers are exposed to
cancer-causing agents every year.
Sydney Morning Herald • ACTU
zero cancer campaign • Global
trade union occupational cancer/zero cancer campaign • Hazards
work cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 27 October 2007
Europe: Union dismay
at EMF law delay
A European law intended to protect workers from possible health risks
caused by electromagnetic fields, is to be delayed for four years.
The TUC believes the MRI issue could have been dealt with without
shelving what was intended solely as a workplace health and safety
measure - electromagnetic radiation has been linked to high rates
of breast cancer in flight attendants and to cancers and other health
effects in other groups of workers, including railway staff and microchip
workers.
The
Guardian • BBC
News Online • Trade
union cancer campaign
Hazards news, 27 October 2007
Global:
Mobile phones linked to brain cancer
New research suggests mobile phone usage for more than a decade greatly
increases the risk of cancer. The study found that long-term users
– and the phones have become a required tool for many workers
- had double the chance of getting a malignant tumour on the side
of the brain where they held the handset.
Lennart Hardell and others. Long-term use of cellular phones and
brain tumours: increased risk associated with use for equal to or
greater than 10 years, Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
volume 64, pages 626-632, 2007 [abstract]
Hazards news, 13 October 2007
Britain:
Losing the workplace cancer fight
Britain is seriously underestimating the risk of contracting cancer
at work, according to new research. A new study by Stirling University
has found the figure could be four times higher than the official
estimate and says HSE's recommendations for action range “from
complacent to non-existent.”
Stirling University/Hazards
magazine news release • Rory O’Neill, Simon Pickvance
and Andrew Watterson. Burying the evidence: How Great Britain
is prolonging the occupational cancer epidemic, International
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (IJOEH), volume
13, number 4, pages 432-440, October-December 2007 • Hazards
cancer webpages and work
cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 13 October 2007
Britain: Smoke
clears for bar staff
England’s smoking ban has led to healthier
workplaces in the hospitality industry, according to new research.
In the first report into the impact of the English ban, which was
introduced in July, scientists discovered firm evidence of its benefits.
CRUK
news release • BBC
News Online • Hazards
smoking news and resources
Hazards news, 6 October 2007
USA: Industry
obstructs cancer progress
Documents linking industrial chemicals to cancer are being kept from
the public gaze as a result of industry lobbying, a new report has
claimed. OMB Watch says its report, ‘An attack on cancer research’,
shows how industry has “repeatedly misused the Data Quality
Act (DQA) to suppress important cancer-related information.”
OMB
Watch news release • An attack on cancer research: Industry's
obstruction of the National Toxicology Program [pdf]
• Hazards occupational
cancer webpages and Work
cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 22 September 2007
UK
‘lags behind’ on cancer deaths
Cancer survival rates in the UK are trailing behind much of the continent
and in some cases struggling to stay ahead of eastern European countries
despite significantly more funding. A damning online editorial published
alongside the findings in the Lancet Oncology medical journal suggests
the cancer plans introduced in England in 2000 and Scotland in 2001
are not working and that remedying the problem would take a fundamental
overhaul of NHS services.
BBC
News Online • Franco Berrino and others. Survival for
eight major cancers and all cancers combined for European adults diagnosed
in 1995–99: results of the EUROCARE-4 study, Lancet
Oncology Online, published online 21 August 2007. DOI:10.1016/S1470-2045(07)70245-0
• Hazards occupational
cancer webpages and new Work
cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 25 August 2007
Britain: Cancer
increase highlights work risks
A study by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the UK Association of Cancer
Registries (UKACR) has identified increases in a range of cancers.
The most common cancers identified in the new CRUK figures have strong
occupational links.
Cancer
Research UK cancer statistics • Hazards occupational
cancer webpages and Work
cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 18 August 2007
Canada: Payouts for smelter cancer
deaths
The families of 10 former workers at a Canadian smelter and who killed
by occupational cancers are eligible for compensation, the body responsible
for payouts has ruled. The Quebec workplace accident commission determined
the workers in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec, Alcan smelter were
exposed to dangerous levels of carcinogens which ultimately led to
cancer.
CAW
news release • CBC
News
Hazards news, 4 August 2007
Europe:
Excellent work cancer campaign resources
The European trade union safety thinktank HESA has published an excellent
online occupational cancer resource. HESA says it is safe to say that
cancer is now the main cause of ‘death by working conditions’
in Europe, adding this cancer epidemic is part of a major health and
safety challenge facing workers.
HESA
occupational cancers webpages • Hazards
cancer webpages and work
cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 4 August 2007
Australia:
Concern at new ABC breast cancer case
Australian journalists' union MEAA wants broadcaster ABC to extend
its cancer cluster investigation to other Brisbane sites after yet
another breast cancer diagnosis for a Toowong studio former employee.
Media union MEAA Queensland secretary, David Waters, called for a
register of past and present employees for health monitoring purposes,
adding: “There is universal concern amongst ABC Brisbane employees
about this cancer cluster… Yes, we have seen 15 cases of breast
cancer since 1994 but all staff are concerned about cancer and that
extends to men.”
Sydney
Morning Herald • Work
cancer prevention kit
Hazards news, 21 July 2007
Britain: More
work cancers than officials admit
Occupational cancers are killing more people that published official
estimates, new figures show. Research commissioned by the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) and presented to an HSE-organised seminar last
month concluded six cancers alone were responsible for 7,380 deaths
a year. HSE’s current estimate for all occupational cancers,
published on its website, is 23 per cent lower, putting the figure
for all workplace cancers at just 6,000 deaths a year.
Risks
314, 7 July 2007 • Hazards work
and cancer webpages
Hazards news, 7 July 2007
Britain:
Report criticises HSE ‘complacency’ on cancer
Work-related cancers will claim thousands of lives each year for a
further working generation as a result of the “shocking complacency”
of the government’s health and safety watchdog, a new report
is warning. ‘Burying the evidence’ says the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) has neither the resources nor the strategy
to tackle the workplace carcinogen exposures killing at least 12,000
people each year.
Cancer
Prevention Coalition news release and
full report, Burying
the evidence: How the UK is prolonging the occupational cancer epidemic
• HSE
news release
Hazards news, 30 June 2007
USA: Outrage
at work cancer report delay
A Minnesota state senator and the United Steelworkers union have called
for investigations into a state Health Department delay in releasing
information about deadly cancers in Iron Range miners. Bob Bratulich,
director of District 11 of the United Steelworkers, said: “It
is unconscionable, unethical, and probably criminal for a public agency
to withhold information about a potential health risk to workers.”
Workday
Minnesota • Mankato
Press Press
Hazards news, 23 June 2007
USA:
Bullets, bombs and nuclear power plants
Unlike gunfire, emissions from a nuclear plant cannot be heard,
tasted, seen or sensed as they are released. Twenty-four hours a day,
a nuclear power plant, quietly running, gives off some 200-plus radioactive
isotopes that fall to earth at various rates, depending upon their
weight and size and the wind direction.
San
Francisco Bayview
Hazards news , 19 June 2007
France:
Brain tumour link to pesticides
Agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides have a raised
risk of brain tumours, research suggests. All agricultural workers
exposed to pesticides had a slightly elevated brain tumour risk, the
French study found, but the paper published online by the journal
Occupational and Environmental Medicine reported the risk was more
than doubled for those exposed to the highest levels.
Dorothée Provost and others. Brain tumours and exposure
to pesticides: a case-control study in, southwestern France,
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, published online 30 May 2007;
doi: 10.1136/oem.2006.028100 [abstract]
• BBC
News Online
Hazards news, 9 June 2007
Australia:
Qantas in chrome cancer payout
Australian airline Qantas could face tens of millions of dollars in
compensation after a dying aircraft maintenance worker was awarded
almost Aus$1 million (£0.41m) for lung cancer he contracted
after working for the airline. Sheet metal worker Philip Johnson,
who worked at the airline's Sydney Airport base between 1971 and 1991,
was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago, the condition deemed
to have been caused by the inhalation of hexavalent chromium, a known
cause of occupational cancer.
The
Daily Telegraph • Global
union cancer campaign
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Switzerland:
Magnetic fields linked to rail cancers
Railway workers exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic fields
have an elevated risk of certain blood cancers, new study findings
suggest. In a study of more than 20,000 Swiss railway workers who
were followed for 30 years, researchers found that certain workers'
risk of myeloid leukaemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma climbed in tandem
with their exposure to these fields, with train drivers most at risk.
Dr Martiin Röösli and others. Leukaemia, brain tumours
and exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields: cohort of
Swiss railway employees, Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
published online 24 May 2007; doi: 10.1136/oem.2006.030270 [abstract]
•
Hazards
prevent work cancer kit
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Britain:
Cancers killed rubber worker
A 43-year-old man who inhaled dangerous chemicals whilst working in
the rubber industry died from a form of cancer only usually seen in
pensioners, an inquest has heard. Timothy Kirkby died at Derbyshire
Royal Infirmary on 20 July last year; he had cancer in a kidney and
in his bladder and urethra.
Burton
Mail • Global
union prevent cancer campaign
Hazards news, 26 May 2007
South
Africa: Benzene ‘harms refinery staff’
A study at a fuel refinery in South Africa has found that benzene
in petroleum causes high levels of DNA damage in refinery workers,
distribution workers, tank drivers and office staff alike. The Wits
School of Public Health study found that continued exposure of workers
to the known workplace carcinogen reduced the ability of their bodies
to repair the damage to DNA, the body’s genetic code. Business
Day • Hazards
cancer prevention news and resources
Hazards news, 19 May 2007
Global: Moves
to tackle toxic wood boards
Wood-based boards that can lead to workplace exposures to a mix of
two known carcinogens pose an unacceptable risk, campaigners have
warned. Australian construction union CFMEU says it may consider a
ban on imports of MDF - medium density fibreboard – because
of concerns about formaldehyde risks, while California legislators
have introduced laws limiting the amount of the toxin in the boards.
CFMEU
construction safety newsletter - [pdf]
• US
formaldehyde-free campaign • Hazards/Global
union cancer prevention campaign
Hazards news, 19 May 2007
France:
Chemical firm liable for kidney cancers
The world’s third largest animal feed supplement producer has
been found liable for kidney cancers suffered by its staff. A social
security tribunal in Moulin, France ruled in April that Adisseo had
been grossly negligent and ordered the company to pay out compensation
of 50,000 to 60,000 euros (£34,000-41,000) to each of nine current
or former workers suffering from kidney cancer.
ETUI-REHS
news report
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Canada:
Ontario tackles firefighting cancers
Firefighters deserve compensation for fire-related illnesses and the
Ontario government is working to ensure they get the help they need,
provincial premier Dalton McGuinty has said. The proposed amendment
to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act in Canada’s most populous
province would allow the government to make regulations affecting
Ontario's firefighters that would identify eight types of cancer as
presumed to be work-related and would include heart attacks as presumed
to be work-related if they occur within 24 hours of a fire.
Ontario
Office of the Premier news release • Hazards
cancer prevention resources
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Britain: Car
union in offer to cancer families
Union leaders want to meet grieving families of men who died of cancer
contracted while working at Southampton's Ford factory. The Transport
and General Workers' Union (TGWU) has offered to support relatives
if they take legal action, after an investigation by local paper the
Daily Echo revealed 21 cases of oesophageal cancer among workers at
the Swaythling factory - more than three times the number of cases
investigated in an independent study commissioned by Ford.
Daily
Echo • Work
Cancer Prevention Kit, including guide to combating the
top
10 workplace cancer concerns
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
USA:
Unions win action on cement health risks
A union legal challenge has won stricter
controls on cancer and other risks posed by a constituent of portland
cement. The ubiquitous site material, which contains hexavalent chromium
(chrome 6), a known carcinogen and powerful allergen, had been excluded
from the official chrome 6 standard.
Risks 302, 21 April 2007
• BCTD news
release and full text of the settlement agreement [pdf]
• AFL-CIO
Now
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
USA:
Work cancer studies underestimate real risks
A study of cancer risk in workers exposed to metalworking fluids suggests
common study approaches systematically under-estimate the true extent
of the problem. Harvard University researchers say failure to take
adequate account of the time lag between exposure and development
of an occupational cancer – the latency period – means
a significant proportion of work-related cancers can be missed.
Risks 302, 21 April 2007
Canada:
Firefighter won final cancer battle
A Toronto fire captain who died of work-related colon cancer this
month was laid to rest last week with full honours. Gary Allen Wilson,
48, was found to have died in the line of duty after the Workplace
Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) declared his cancer to be related to
the chemicals and smoke he was exposed to on the job.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 • Hazards
work cancer webpages
Australia:
ABC breast cancer victims in compo bid
Eight of the 13 women who developed breast cancer in the last 11 years
while working at the ABC's Toowong studios, in Brisbane, Australia,
have filed workers' compensation claims.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007
• Hazards
work cancer webpages
Global:
Hidden cancer epidemic is work’s biggest killer
UK unions are supporting a global ‘zero cancer’ campaign
targeting workplace cancers. A coalition of global unions is warning
a worldwide epidemic of occupational cancer claims at least one life
every 52 seconds, but says this tragedy is being ignored or seriously
underestimated by both official regulators and employers.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 •
Occupational Cancer/Zero Cancer: A trade union guide to prevention
[pdf]
• Hazards occupational
cancer webpages and new Work
cancer prevention kit • IMF
occupational cancer webpages • BWI
occupational cancer webpages
France:
Few workers protected from major health risks
A major survey of French workplaces has revealed few workers are adequately
protected from from the risks posed by carcinogenic, mutagenic or
reprotoxic substances (CMR agents) – in general, substances
that carry a cancer or reproductive health risk. Inspections at 2,000
firms found only 40 per cent of workplaces using CMR agents - nearly
half of all the firms visited were using these substances - had carried
out the necessary risk assessment.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007
Denmark:
Union study exposes work cancer tragedy
A trade union study has identified high levels of occupational cancers
in construction workers in Denmark and has prompted immediate government
action. Danish Confederation of Construction Workers Unions (BAT-Cartel)
researchers analysed found a range of jobs had a statistically significant
risk for a range of cancers, many associated with asbestos exposure.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007
Canada:
Unions push for shipyard cancer action
Official Canadian health and safety agencies in Newfoundland and Labrador
say they will thoroughly investigate complaints from 15 former shipyard
workers who say their workplace gave them cancer. All worked at the
Marystown Shipyard and blame exposure to asbestos and toxic chemicals
for their cancers.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007
Canada:
Cancer study links site work to head cancers
The risk of developing health and neck cancers is doubled if you work
in construction, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University
of Stirling’s Occupational and Environmental Health Research
found men who had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer were twice
as likely to have worked in construction as participants in a control
group.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007
Britain:
One-in-five women with lung cancer never smoked
One-in-five lung cancers in females and almost 1-in-10 in men occur
in people who have never smoked, a new study has concluded. Researchers
at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Northern California
Cancer Center have concluded that never-smokers get lung cancer more
often than thought.
Risks 294, 17 February 2007
Britain:
Ford cancer probe highlights work risks
An 18-month investigation into a throat cancer cluster at Southampton's
Ford car factory has concluded six cases – twice the expected
number – occurred as a matter of chance. Experts were called
in after five employees in the paint shop died of throat cancer. Another
developed the illness but recovered; the six staff members were diagnosed
with the disease between 1994 and 2005 - more than twice the number
of cases medical researchers would expect to occur over an 11-year
period.
Risks 293, 10 February 2007
USA:
Women’s work cancers under the spotlight
Many work environments - no matter how seemingly innocuous - expose
people to human carcinogens, substances that can cause cancer. Cornell
University’s Suzanne Snedeker said: “It's appalling how
little data we have,” adding: “Until the 1990s we had
very little data on exposure to chemicals.”
Risks 291, 27 January 2007 • Hazards
cancer webpages
Australia:
ABC staff may strike over cancer concerns
Staff employed by Australian broadcaster ABC in Brisbane have threatened
further industrial action as concerns continue about elevated cancer
rates linked to its ageing studios in the city. The studio was abandoned
before Christmas after an independent panel of experts found the breast
cancer rate there was up to 11 times higher than the general working
community.
Risks 289, 13 January 2007
India:
The real cost of cheap stone
Research and “diagnosis camps” run by the Gujarat-based
Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC) have identified an “epidemic”
of silicosis, a deadly lung disease caused by exposure to stone dust.
Quarry workers, gem polishers, foundry and other industrial workers
are at risk.
Risks 289, 13 January 2007 • PTRC
website • More
on the PTRC dust campaign
Europe:
Cancer problems hidden at work
Occupational cancers are being missed because of flaws in the reporting
system, according to a new report. It says a major factor in the near
invisibility of occupational cancer is that the related tumours in
the great majority of cases only occur after the worker has retired
- however, a pilot scheme by France’s health protection agency
which started in 2005 is using post-occupational monitoring for employees
and self-employed skilled workers.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006
Britain:
Scientist played down work cancer risks
A world-famous British scientist failed
to disclose that he held a paid consultancy with a chemical company
for more than 20 years while investigating cancer risks in the industry.
Sir Richard Doll, the celebrated epidemiologist, was receiving a consultancy
fee of $1,500 a day in the mid-1980s from chemical multinational Monsanto.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006
USA:
Multinationals blame workers for chemical cancers
Nine former employees of a US tyre plant who developed occupational
cancers as a result of toxic exposures have been told by chemical
giants it was their own fault. The group, who all worked at Uniroyal
Goodrich Tire Co. in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, were exposed to
benzene but have been told they caused their own cancer because they
“voluntarily used the chemicals knowing the dangers and risks,
and they failed to take precautions which could have avoided injuries.”
Risks 284, 25 November 2006
Britain:
Danger, cancer at work
Hazards magazine is campaigning for greater recognition of the occupational
cancer risk. It needs evidence from UK workplaces to add additional
weight to its arguments and wants to hear about any cancer risks where
you work, compensation payouts made to people developing occupational
cancers, union guidance on the issue or union initiatives to remove
or reduce workplace cancer risks.
Hazards cancer webpages
Global:
Raised cancer risk in firefighters
Firefighters are at a far higher risk of developing certain cancers
than people in many other professions, according to new research.
A University of Cincinnati team said exposure to substances such as
benzene, chloroform and soot posed a threat.
Risks 283, 18 November 2006 •
Hazards cancer
and work and
health webpages • US
firefighters' union IAFF webpages on presumption laws in the US
and Canada
Global:
HSE’s cancer favourite had “secret ties to industry”
Researchers have revealed that the co-author of the most frequently
cited but much criticised estimate of occupational cancer prevalence
had “secret ties to industry”. An analysis of the academic
literature on occupational cancer found: “The most striking
case is that of Sir Richard Doll, co-author (with Richard Peto) of
one of the most influential papers in cancer epidemiology, one that
concluded
Risks 283, 18 November 2006
Britain:
Semiconductor cancer deaths inquiry call
The UK semiconductor industry and the official safety watchdog must
take urgent action to address cancer risks in the semiconductor industry,
a union has said. Manufacturing union Amicus has called for an inquiry
into cancer risks in the computer and semiconductor manufacturing
industry following damning new research from the United States.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006
Britain:
Amicus takes on “terrible” silica problems
An Amicus campaign is seeking to minimise the risks of “terrible”
diseases caused by workplace exposure to silica. Crystalline silica
can cause silicosis and other respiratory disease and has been linked
to lung cancer, kidney and autoimmune system problems.
Risks 280, 28 October 2006
Global:
Breast cancer linked to jobs
Women who have worked, or grown up, on a farm have a much higher risk
of getting breast cancer, a study suggests. Stirling University researchers
said women who then worked in healthcare further increased their risk,
although more research is needed to explain why.
Risks 279, 21 October 2006
Britain:
Amicus prepares Lords appeal on pleural plaques
An appeal to the Law Lords to reinstate compensation for sufferers
of the asbestos related condition pleural plaques has been set for
summer 2007.The move by Amicus is seeking to overturn a Court of Appeal
ruling this year which stopped compensation payouts to those with
the condition.
Risks 279, 21 October 2006
Global:
Cancer linked to rotating shifts
Men who work a rotating shift pattern may be at increased risk of
prostate cancer, research suggests. Japanese scientists found that
staff working rotating shifts were three times as likely to develop
the disease as those working day or night shifts.
Risks 275, 23 September 2006
USA:
Corporate cancer kills off real prevention
The organisation representing occupational health doctors in the US
has been labelled an “embarrassment” after making claims
about the supposed “success” of occupational cancer prevention
measures. The flak heading the way of the American College of Occupational
and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has been amplified because of its
support for a “CEO Cancer Gold Standard™”, backed
largely by pharmaceutical companies and concentrating entirely on
lifestyle measures.
Risks 273, 9 September 2006
USA:
Workplace lead exposure a brain cancer risk
People who are routinely exposed to lead at work are far more likely
to die from brain cancer than people who are not exposed. The US study
found the death rate among people with jobs that potentially exposed
them to lead was 50 percent higher than unexposed people, and the
number of deaths was larger than in many previous studies.
Risks 273, 9 September 2006
Cancer
and work conference, Glasgow, 14 September
Unions and workplace health campaign organisations
are hosting a 14 September conference in Glasgow on cancer and work.
Risks 270, 19 August 2006
Ukraine:
Chernobyl thyroid cancer risk confirmed
A new study has confirmed a substantially increased risk of thyroid
cancer among people exposed to radiation during childhood and adolescence
after the Chernobyl disaster.
Risks 265, 15 July 2006
China:
Campaign calls for cadmium compensation
The global metalworkers’ union federation IMF is calling on
its affiliates worldwide to join the campaign for compensation for
workers in China suffering from cadmium poisoning. When Gold Peak
Industries opened its Huizhou factories in 1994, Chinese workers were
not warned of the dangers of handling highly dangerous cadmium and
were initially refused masks. Years later, these workers suffer from
cadmium poisoning, are going into debt from medical bills and unable
to find new employment.
Risks 263, 1 July 2006
Britain:
TUC in renewed work cancer call
The UK must revise its massive official under-estimate of the work
cancer toll, the TUC has said. The call comes after research this
month confirmed TUC’s charge that the UK’s occupational
cancer estimate is outdated and inadequate, missing most workplace
cancers.
Risks 262, 24 June 2006
Australia:
Work cancers massively under-estimated
About 5,000 Australians a year develop cancer after being
exposed to cancer-causing substances at work - more than twice as
many cases as previously estimated. Research by the Queensland Cancer
Fund and University of Sydney found 11 per cent of all cancers in
men and 2 per cent of cancers in women were linked to occupation,
prompting doctors to warn that occupational health and safety regulations
may be failing to protect workers.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006
Global:
Fraudulent chrome cancer study downplayed risks
A highly influential occupational health journal has had to retract
a paper on risks posed by cancer-causing chromium after it emerged
the paper was not written by the scientists credited, but by consulting
firm which has chromium industry clients.
EWG
“Chrome-plated fraud” webpages
Canada:
Job-related cancer killed firefighter
Days after he died from colon cancer, a firefighter finally won a
legacy that will help other firefighters hit with job-related illnesses.
Joe Adamkowski, 49, died on 14 May before learning the Workplace Safety
Insurance Board had approved his claim for job-related cancer compensation.
Risks 259, 3 June 2006 • US
firefighters’ union IAFF webpages on presumption laws in the
US and Canada
Britain:
Nat Semi cancer toll is “tip of the iceberg”
More than 70 cancer deaths at the National Semiconductor plant in
Greenock, Scotland, could be the tip of the iceberg, health experts
have warned. Experts have identified several types of cancer, including
brain and breast tumours, which are four to five times higher than
normal.
Risks 259, 3 June 2006
Britain:
Cancer warning from bladder cancer widow
The widow of a process worker who died from bladder cancer caused
by exposure to workplace chemicals is urging other at risk workers
to seek immediate medical attention. Douglas Taylor worked for the
Castleford company, Hickson and Welch, between 1961 and 1990 during
which he came into contact with aromatic amines.
Risks 258, 27 May 2006
Australia:
“Serious” concerns at building tumour link
A union has said there is a “serious problem” with an
Australian university building that had to have its top floors evacuated
after a cluster of brain tumours were discovered. University union
NTEU has called on RMIT University in Melbourne to ensure the health
and safety of its staff following reports that seven staff members
working in the tower block have been diagnosed with brain tumours
over the last seven years.
Risks 257, 20 May 2006
Britain:
Warning on work skin cancer risk
Rising skin cancer rates have prompted renewed union warnings about
reducing work-related risks from sunlight exposure. General union
GMB said Britain’s 1 million outdoor workers should be protected.
Risks 257, 20 May 2006
Europe:
Agreement on workplace silica risks
More than 2 million workers in many different sectors across Europe
are to be covered by a joint union-employer pact to reduce risks from
exposure to crystalline silica, a substance that can cause lung cancer,
respiratory disease and which has been linked to kidney and autoimmune
system problems.
Risks 254, 29 April 2006
Britain:
Five year delay on microchip cancer study
A study into cancers at a Scottish microelectronics plant has not
started after years of delays, with just eight months to go before
it's supposed to finish. Top boffins from the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) promised five years ago to undertake the study at the National
Semiconductor in Greenock, says health and safety campaign group Phase
II.
Risks 253, 22 April 2006
Canada:
Push for new cancer prevention law
The Canadian government must do more to prevent cancers caused by
industrial chemicals, campaigners have said. They are pushing the
new Conservative government to ban or phase out some chemicals altogether.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006
Global:
Asian silicosis victims to hit Europe
Two jewellery workers from China and two gem polishers from India
will travel to Basel, Switzerland, to raise awareness of the deadly
side effects of their jobs, particularly silicosis. The workers will
attend a jewellery fair from 30 March to 4 April, and hope to have
talks with a large number of organisations, including the International
Labour Organisation (ILO).
Risks 247, 11 March 2006
USA:
Groups challenge deadly chrome standard
US government safety watchdog OSHA, under pressure from the courts
to issue a health standard for a deadly workplace substance, has published
a limit so lax “that workers will die,” health campaigners
have warned.
Risks 246, 4 March 2006
USA:
Job exposure to common pesticide linked to cancer
Workplace exposure to the common pesticide diazinon appears to increase
the risk of lung cancer and possibly other cancers, according to a
major study.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
Cancer chemicals killing tens of thousands, says TUC
Britain is facing an occupational cancer epidemic that could be killing
up to 24,000 people every year, four times official estimates, according
to an authoritative new TUC report. The report by Hazards, the TUC-backed
health and safety magazine, concludes that the incidence of occupational
cancer in the UK is much higher, and suggests that it is between 12,000
and 24,000 deaths a year.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Canada:
Firefighters win fight for cancer compensation
Firefighters in British Columbia (BC), Canada with certain kinds of
work-related cancer will find it easier to get official compensation,
thanks to rule changes agreed by the provincial government. The new
law, which was introduced after a lengthy campaign by firefighters’
unions, will recognise leukaemia, brain cancer and five other kinds
of cancer as occupational hazards for long-time firefighters.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
