Register of employees occupationally exposed to carcinogens

1
Register of employees occupationally exposed to
carcinogens

• Panu Oksa

2
Background

• ILO Convention no 139 was ratified in 1978 in
  Finland
• Register of employees occupationally exposed to
  carcinogens was started 1979
• Since 1993 the Register has been statutory
• New law 717/2001

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Employer's duties

• Employer must keep Register of carcinogenic
  substances at workplace and workers exposed to
  such substances
• Employer must inform employees about the Register
• Once a year, employer must deliver data to
  authorities

4
Carcinogenic substances

• Currently there are 4 work practices and 170
  different substances legally listed in Finnish
  legislation as carcinogenic
• The last to be listed was passive smoking
  1.1.2001-
• Last report in Finnish 2000, coming soon 2003 and
  also in English 2003

5
Goals of the Register

• Protection of employees, with preventive actions
• Produce knowledge for occupational studies
  (cancer risk)
• Produce knowledge for authorities

6
Content of the Register

• Annually some 15 000 workers are registered
• Altogether about 80 000 workers have been
  registered
• Most common substances are tobacco smoke,
  chromiumVI, nickel and asbestos

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2001 most common carcinogens

• Carcinogen Exposures
• Tobacco smoke 11197
• Chromium(VI)compounds 7717
• Nickel and its inorganic compounds 6644
• Asbestos 1709
• Benzene 1654
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 1557
• Chloroform 1472
• Acrylamide 1016
• Cadmium and its compounds 905
• Arsenic and its inorganic compounds 890
• Cyclophosphamide 729
• Hydrazine and its alkyl derivates 501
• Isophosphamide 371
• Melphalan 325

8
2001 most common occupations in Register, of
employed

• Occupation
• Structural-metal preparers and erectors 45
• Doorkeepers, watchpersons and related workers
  35
• Chemists 26
• Metal finishing-, plating- and coating-machine
  operators 25
• Croupiers and related clerks 25
• Building frame and related trades workers not
  elsewhere classified 24
• Mining and metallurgic technicians 22
• Chemical-processing-plant operators 20
• Waiters, waitresses and bartenders 19
• Production and operations managers in restaurants
  and hotels 15
• Welders and flame cutters 14
• Ore and metal furnace operators 10
• Life science technicians 10
• Metal heat-treating-plant operators 10

9
2001 most common branches, of employed

• Industry
• Hotels and restaurants 12
• Manufacture of coke, refIned petroleum products
  and nuclear fuel 12
• Mining of metal ores 8
• Research and development 8
• Manufacture of basic metals 7
• Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
  6
• Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except
  machinery and equipment
  6
• Manufacture of other transport equipment
  4
• Sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles
  and motorcycles 3
• Sewage and refuse disposal, sanitation and
  similar activities 3
• Electricity, gas, steam and hot water supply
  2
• Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and
  semi-trailers 2
• Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.
  2
• Construction 1

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Exposure in Estonia

• Kauppinen T, Pajarskienen B,
• Podniece Z, Rjazanov V, Smerhovsky Z,
  Veidebaum T, Leino T. Occupational exposure to
  carcinogens in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the
  Czech Republic in 1997. Scand J Work Environ
  Health 200127343-5

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Benefits of Register

• Questionnaire study showed that carcinogenic
  substances were abandoned and exposure levels
  reduced. Register was primary cause of changes in
  8 and partly in 23 of cases
• Kauppinen T et al. 1999

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Future

• Register helps to keep an eye on this important
  topic danger of occupational cancer
• More information, e.g., of substitutive
  substances, methods and protective equipment
  would intensify actions in workplaces to
  decrease exposure more efficiently