	home

	products & services

	health information

	facilities finder

	about Bupa

	jobs at Bupa

	contact Bupa

Products and services

	Health insurance
	Financial protection
	Care homes
	Health assessments
	Childcare
	Travel insurance
	International cover
	Health cash plans
	Shop

Visitor interest areas

	Individuals
	Business
	Intermediaries
	Health professionals
	Bupa members

Facilities finder

Find local health and fitness facilities

World of Bupa

Bupa services around the world at bupa.com

| health information | health news

Needless deaths due to workplace cancer

11 May 2007

Key facts

Cancer occurs when cells in the body, which normally grow in a controlled way, grow in an uncontrolled way and form a lump. One in three people will develop cancer during their lifetime.
Lung cancer can occur in the lining of the bronchi or in the lung tissue itself. In the UK, lung cancer is responsible for the most deaths due to cancer.
Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. In the UK, 7,000 people are diagnosed with leukaemia each year.
Mesothelioma is cancer of the thin membrane which lines the inside of the chest and the abdomen. Approximately 1,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

Everyday 200,000 people around the world die from cancer related to their workplace, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Tragically, many workers are dying needlessly as the risks of occupational cancer are avoidable.

Common work-related cancers like lung cancer, mesothelioma and leukaemia are caused by exposure to carcinogens (cancer causing agents) in the working environment. Second-hand tobacco smoke, asbestos and benzene (an organic solvent) are the most common workplace carcinogen pollutants.

More than 125 million people around the world are exposed to asbestos at work and 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related disease. Benzene is widely used by workers in many industries, such as chemical and diamond industries. Thousands die from leukaemia each year as a result of exposure to this organic solvent. Every 10th lung cancer death is closely related to the workplace.

WHO argue that the largest number of deaths are in workplaces that do not meet health and safety requirements and those that do not prevent carcinogens polluting the air.

Dr Maria Neira, WHO director of public health, argues "The tragedy of occupational cancer resulting from asbestos, benzene and other carcinogens is that it takes so long for science to be translated into protective action." She goes on to say "In the interests of protecting our health, we must adopt an approach rooted in primary prevention, that is to make workplaces free from carcinogenic risks."

The workplace smoking ban, due to come into effect on 1 July 2007 in England, demonstrates this point. The effects of passive smoking on workers have been long since proven, with studies showing that workers who are exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke are twice as likely to develop lung cancer compared to those who work in a smoke-free environment. Yet this is only now being translated into protective action, the health of many workers in England will have already suffered unnecessarily.

WHO also highlight the danger of occupational cancers in the developing world. As tighter controls over dangerous pollutants are put in place in the West, many industries are moving to countries with less stringent enforcement of occupational health standards. WHO warn that if the use of carcinogens in developing countries continues, there will be a large increase in the number of work-related cancers in the coming decades.

WHO propose that the best ways to prevent occupational cancer are to ban tobacco smoking in the workplace, stop the use of asbestos, introduce benzene-free organic solvents and provide protective clothing to those working in the sun.