Saturday, April 28, 2007 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work, an international campaign that promotes safe, healthy, and decent working conditions.

To publicize the need for such a campaign, WHO announced that at least 200,000 people die from cancer-related diseases each year around the world—and millions of other workers are at risk from developing cancer directly related to their work. Carcinogens are especially dangerous at the workplace; that is, any substance that can cause cancer.

Lung cancer, bladder cancer, and mesothelioma (a benign or malignant cancerous tumor in the lining of the abdomen, heart, or lungs) are the three most common cancers that cause employees to die when workplaces are not healthy and safe.

For example, lung cancer is twice as likely when workers are exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke as opposed to workers in workplaces that are smoke-free.

The best way to minimize cancers among workers, according to WHO, is to reduce carcinogens in the workplace. Asbestos (a fibrous silicate mineral) and benzene (a toxic colorless liquid produced from petroleum) should be eliminated. Other safer materials are available to replace them. Tobacco should also be banned from the workplace. Something as simple as protective clothing can help minimize skin cancer in workers working outside in the Sun.

One out of every ten deaths from lung cancer has been associated with workplaces. For asbestos exposure alone, at least 90,000 deaths occur annually, with about 125 million people exposed while at work.

Benzene kills thousands of workers each year in industries using and producing dyes, drugs, pesticides, and rubbers. The chemical and diamond industries have especially large percentages of employee deaths due to benzene poisoning as compared to other industries.

Dr. Maria Neira, WHO Director of Public Health and Environment, recently said, "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. Known and preventable exposures are clearly responsible for hundreds of thousands of excess cancer cases each year. 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."

Leaders at WHO state that developing countries with rapid industrialization are the worst offenders concerning the use of these carcinogens in the workplace. In fact, occupational disease, around the world, is more dangerous than work-related accidents—by a margin of four to one. Overall, deaths from work-related diseases happen to about 1.7 million workers each year.

The organization strongly advises that national cancer prevention and control programs be setup in all countries around the world in order to protect workers from occupational cancer.

Additional information from WHO on work-related diseases and accidents is found at: http://www.who.int/occupational_health/mediacentre/pr280405/en/.

Established by the International Labor Organization in 2003, more information about World Day for Safety and Health at Work is found at: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=33861.

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