The Workplace and Cancer

From The Australian
5000 a year get cancer from their work
Clara Pirani, Medical reporter - 13 jun06

ABOUT 5000 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.

Almost 1600 cases, or 30 per cent of all lung cancer cases in Australia each year, were
attributed to exposure to asbestos, fumes, exhausts and passive smoking in the
workplace, the study found. About 300 cases of bladder cancer were caused by exposure
to dyes, lead and solvents at work, and 265 cases of colon cancer were linked to
metalwork and the use of asbestos, the study found.

The head of epidemiology at the Queensland Cancer Fund, Lin Fritschi, said previous
studies had significantly underestimated the level of work-related cancer in Australia.
"A large study in the 1980s suggested 4 per cent of cancers in the world were caused by
occupation, and that's the figure that is still used in Australia," Professor Fritschi said. "But
that is a really big underestimate, because the data they used was from the 1950s and 60s.
"We now know a lot more about chemicals and cancer risk than we did 20 years ago,"
Professor Fritschi told The Australian.

Almost 1.5 million Australians are exposed to carcinogens in the workplace, according to
the study, published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.
People working in the forestry, logging, construction and mining industries were most at
risk of developing cancer, followed by retail and hospitality workers.
"People working in agriculture are exposed to pesticides and UV radiation, while
construction workers are exposed to silica and diesel exhaust," Professor Fritschi said.

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