Canadian Occupational Safety

15 2019 FEBRUARY/MARCH AT-RISK INDUSTRIES Workers are exposed to carcinogenic substances in many industries. One industry that presents this hazard on a major scale is construction. There are a number of different exposures, depending on the job. Workers are exposed to diesel engine exhaust, silica, asbestos, paint and solvents and, because they often work outside, the sun. Agricultural workers are also among those most exposed to can- cer-causing substances. The most important factor here is the amount of time spent outdoors, which increases the risk of skin cancer. Agricultural workers also use chemicals, such as pesticides, that are either known or suspected carcinogens. Other industries that have high rates of cancer-causing exposures are manufacturing (chemicals, metals, solvents, dusts and radia- tion), mining, forestry, custodial care (cleaning materials) and potentially certain ser vice industries, where workers are exposed to hazards such as second-hand cigarette smoke and traffic fumes. In recent years, studies have also led researchers to recognize night shift work as a significant carcinogen. In fact, IARC has ranked it as "prob- ably carcinogenic to humans." "It doesn't definitely cause cancer in humans, but there is accumulat- ing evidence that it could increase the risk of breast cancer if you work night shifts or rotating shifts for long peri- ods of time," says Peters. Working night shifts interferes with the body's circadian rhythm, the body's biological clock, disrupting genes that regulate the production of a protein known to promote cancer growth. Studies have shown an increased risk of breast cancer among long-term night shift workers, in con- trast with people who do not work at night. Working night shifts has also been associated with ovarian cancer and melanoma skin cancer. Industries with the highest number of people working night shifts include trades, health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services and manufacturing. According to Carex Canada, about 1.8 million workers in Canada worked a regular night or rotating shift schedule in 2011. WORKER PROTECTION Employers can do a lot to protect workers from carcinogenic hazards by making sure they do their due dili- gence and follow regulations, Peters says. They should check with their pro- vincial OHS regulator to discover the exposure limits for any possible car- cinogens they use in their workplace and the exposure control plans they are required to have in place. It's also important, she adds, for employers to establish a safety cul- ture so workers feel able to speak up about a substance or practice they think may be hazardous. "Workers have to feel safe that they can go to their employers and say, 'I think we have a problem.' And they need to know there's a safety culture there and their employer will take them seriously and will look into it. There are a lot of resources available to employers to help them protect their workforce," Peters says. Reducing worker exposure to carcinogens must be seen as a multi- level responsibility, Dummer says. At the top, politicians and industry leaders need to create health and safety guidelines that deal with each individual cancer-causing agent in an appropriate way. Employers need to manage their workplaces to control exposures properly, according to the hierarchy of controls. They must also educate their workers to make sure they are aware of the risks of the car- cinogenic materials they are using, and they must provide workers with appropriate guidelines on how to avoid those risks. To reduce exposures effectively, Stoffman says, employers need to act on the information we have now. They should have a good manage- ment system in place, which starts with conducting a rigorous, thorough audit, one aimed at listing all relevant exposures that may occur in the work environment. "As an employer, you need to do an inventory of cancer-causing materi- als that you may be using. If you use any, then you need to look for the feasibility of eliminating the use of that material," he says. "Where you cannot eliminate something, you still need to have an active procurement policy and supply chain manage- ment. Then, as best practices evolve or people in some other part of the world come up with an alternative, you implement that alternative. In the meantime, you use the best kind of engineering controls to make sure people aren't exposed to the hazard." CHALLENGES One big obstacle to reducing worker exposure to carcinogens, Peters says, is that new exposures are always appearing on the scene — a result of new technologies, such as 3D print- ers, and new workplace procedures. It can be difficult for researchers to keep up with the changes and be able to specify safe exposure levels. "We have new chemicals and new nanotechnologies becoming available all the time, and we don't necessarily have the research to know what a reasonably safe level is for workers to be exposed to," she says. Another challenge to reducing exposures, Stoffman says, is that implementation of prevention strat- egies is sporadic and inconsistent, and regulatory requirements are not always vigorously enforced. Accord- ing to legislation across Canada, employers have a general duty to ensure workers are not exposed to hazardous substances. But in fact, the requirement on employers to mini- mize or eliminate workers' exposure to a very serious hazard is not being fulfilled except by those who have the very best practices. "There isn't really a lot of work being done to eliminate an exposure unless there's a significant action taken at the government level to actu- ally ban the substance and its use, as was recently done with asbestos," Stoffman says. "So, we should have much more robust prevention pro- grams that would look at eliminating hazards where you can, including exposure to cancer-causing material." One major obstacle to reducing workplace cancers, Dummer says, is the large number of different expo- sures that are known to, or that may, cause cancer, as identified by the IARC. "So the challenge is making sure we have policies and legislation appro- priate to the carcinogenic hazard." The good news, Dummer says, is that research done in recent years has led to a better understanding of the problem. He points to the Burden of Occupational Cancer in Ontario study, which produced a lot of data that will prove useful for researchers and organizations across Canada trying to reduce on-the-job exposures to carcinogenic hazards. "As we've gone for ward, we've become better at understanding what all these different exposures are. And we've started to understand more about the magnitude of the problem," he says. "And by quantifying it better, we've made it quite clear that occupa- tional cancer should be avoidable. It should be preventable." COS Linda Johnson is a Toronto-based freelance journalist who has been writing for COS for eight years. NOTE-TAKING SOLUTIONS FOR OH&S PROFESSIONALS FROM TRIFORM Occupational health and safety requires continual attention in every workplace. Employers and employees alike must be vigilant in properly investigating and reporting workplace incidents. To help you document your work, we have developed a collection of products ranging from Supervisors' Notebooks, Members' OH&S Notebooks, and Workplace Incident Notebooks to Carrying Cases. Each notebook contains information on: • Incidents that must be reported to the Board • Incidents that require an investigation and a report • How the investigation should be conducted • Who should be involved • What information is needed to complete the report • Duty to preserve the scene of the accident We also specialize in making custom notebooks with custom content and stamping. © 2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00250EH-91622-NP For more information, contact Triform Specialist Caroline Becker directly at 416.649.8968, or email books@triform.com. To order online or get an instant quote Visit www.triform.com Triform

• Cover