A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) notes that approximately 200,000 people die each year from workplace-related cancer and that nearly half of those people die from asbestos-related diseases.
“Currently about 125 million people around the world are exposed to asbestos at work, and at least 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases,†notes a press release issued by the organization on April 27th, 2007.
“The rates of occupational cancer exposure are highest among workers whose workplaces do not meet the requirements for health and safety protection and do not have the necessary engineering measures to prevent the pollution of air with carcinogenic substances,†says the report.
“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,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director of Public Health and Environment. “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.”
Though tighter controls are in place in developed countries, Neira points out that processes involving carcinogens are moving to countries with less stringent enforcement of occupational health standards. She notes that if this practice continues, a significant increase in occupation cancer will be seen in developing countries in the next few decades.
“The control of carcinogens in the workplace should be a key component of every national cancer control program,” added Dr Andreas Ullrich, WHO Medical Officer for cancer control. “To achieve this, WHO supports countries in developing comprehensive national cancer prevention and control plans, which are essential to prevent millions of cancer deaths each year.”
WHO has recently urged all countries to find safer alternatives to replace asbestos or risk facing a cancer epidemic in upcoming years.
