by Shane Henson — November 11, 2013—Employees are often wary of getting a cold or the flu at their workplace, but as a new brochure from the Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST) warns, some workplace environments may raise a person’s risk for cancer, a much more dangerous health threat.
According to the IRSST, a scientific research organization based in Quebec, developing occupational cancer is a real risk that is often trivialized, as was too long the case with tobacco, partly due to the fact that it may take 10 to 40 years between exposure to a carcinogen and diagnosis of an illness.
The Are there carcinogens in your workplace? It’s time to act! brochure, which the organization says is based on the most up-to-date scientific knowledge available, helps identify carcinogens in the workplace, provides examples of preventive measures and best practices for controlling exposure, and proposes a model action plan for eliminating or reducing exposure.
“Scientific estimates indicate that between 3 percent and 10 percent of all new cases of cancer are due to workplace exposure. It’s time to take action and do something to prevent those cases of cancer that not only have human and social costs, but also entail a financial burden for companies,” says IRSST epidemiologist France Labrèche.
A summary sheet specifically for workers will also be available to encourage them to adopt best practices and reduce their risk of exposure. According to Labrèche, workers, employers and prevention officers must be vigilant.
“New products and processes enter the workplace every day. And just because they’re on the market, it doesn’t mean they’re all safe,” Labrèche asserts. “We have to consider first whether the products, materials and processes we use and the work environment expose us to carcinogens, and do all we can to mitigate, or even eliminate, exposure, but we also have to remain vigilant and review preventive measures regularly.”
