FAQs
I have heard that there are proposals to control workplace exposure to 13 carcinogens including hardwood dust and respirable silica through new or amended WELs. Do you know what the other 11 substances would be? Presumably the new WELs will override those currently in EH40?
I was wondering if as an employer who has employees working outdoors does the law require me to purchase sun cream for them or is it enough to advise them to wear sun cream they buy themselves?
The number of deaths attributable is estimated at 666,000 globally per year – may I ask where this figure comes from, the WHO, or other sources?Are we able to determine the most common products, as opposed to substances, for instance paint products?
How reliable is this figure bearing in mind the vast difference in reporting regimes across the globe? So called developed countries might be expected to be more reliable than others for reporting, deaths may occur from exposures many years previously, which may be either obscure or unreliable, and the ‘suspected’ cases (exposures to substances which might be ‘strongly’ suspected but not proven carcinogens), how do these figure in the statistics?
I work at a local airport and one of my responsibilities is keeping the baggage loading area clean. There is a lot of rubber dust on the walls and floors from the rubber baggage belts caused by the constant revolving of the belts system. Would the rubber dust be harmful in any way?
For many business shiftwork is essential, please advise what prevention measures can be implemented to avert cancer?
Surely now that diesel standards are much higher, the fumes don’t pose a risk anymore?
If a diesel engine was emitting fumes that were potentially dangerous to human health, wouldn’t this be picked up during a routine MOT?
If we’re using diesel-powered equipment outside, I assume the fumes are not an issue?
If diesel engine exhaust is such an issue, will we be seeing more enforcement activity in the UK?
What sort of things are HSE inspectors looking for with regards to diesel?
What level of confidence can we have in the statistics published in the ‘Burden of occupational cancer’ report?
What is the proportion of deaths caused by occupational cancer that occur in individuals still of working age?
Is Dr Rushton’s research work replicated anywhere else in the world?
How likely is it that a UK worker will contract an occupational cancer?
Where do agricultural workers fit into the UK research figures? Don’t they get occupational cancers?
Is aviation manufacturing affected?
What about non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and is the NHS looking at causes of clusters?
What about new technology like nanotechnology?
Is chemical manufacturing much better controlled through CoSHH?
Why have you chosen to focus on these five carcinogenic exposures?
I currently work as a health, safety and environment advisor in Aberdeen for the oil sector and I wanted to know how many work-related cancer cases there had been in 2013–2014 within the UK oil and gas industry?
What are the allowable limits for electromagnetic field exposure – especially near high voltage power lines?
A new quarry has been proposed locally, and will be 200m from our house. We're concerned that we will be exposed to small particle dust, especially in the early years of a new quarry, operating near the surface. PM10s are a major worry, due to association with asthma and silicosis. Do you have any references or documents that would cover this issue? We are also concerned at the diesel fumes from plant and from lorry traffic.
I work in the printing industry and am looking for facts and figures about work-related cancer cases in the sector.
If people working in shops, offices, restaurants and cafés are exposed to almost constant diesel pollution from lorries, how great is the danger to them of contracting cancer?
Is tyre rubber dust a carcinogen? I've found information to suggest it can cause lung disease but not whether breathing in the dust is a known cause of cancer. I am presuming the tyres on a forklift truck contain latex, which can be a source of allergic symptoms in the lungs but I am particularly interested in the severity of disease and mortality information from rubber tyre dust that is inhaled into the lungs.
I’m carrying out a project at the fire and rescue service I work for with the aim of reducing or minimising exposure to carcinogens in our workplace. I’m currently trying to find as much UK evidence as possible – do you have any UK statistics of increased cancer rates in fire fighters that could be attributed to exposure to carcinogenic materials that we encounter?
Is a company obliged to provide sunscreen?
How do we know that diesel exhaust is the causal agent for the cancers as stated in the campaign materials? How have researchers separated out the individual chemical components, as smoking causes the generation of similar carcinogenic components?
Could you say that sun cream is a form of personal protective equipment, and if so it would put the onus on the employer to not only provide awareness training in the importance of using sun cream for certain occupations, but also provide it?
What about taxi drivers exposed to pollutants from all vehicles? Has there been any in cab exposure monitoring?
With regards to workers carrying out hand grinding on stainless steel cable containment cages, how concerned should we be with the hazards from respirable dusts containing hex chromium from this small amount of grinding?