Workers at mines and quarries face highest cancer risk
Nordic study assesses frequency of cancers in various professions
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People working in mines and quarries have been found to have the greatest cancer risk of all occupational groups. According to the Nordic Occupational Cancer Study, seamen have the second-highest risk, while tobacco industry workers come in third.
The study, which is being released on Tuesday, finds that the lowest cancer risk is among farmers and garden workers.
The head of the project, Esko Pukkala, notes that lifestyle is a much more significant factor than profession in the spread of cancer.
Certain jobs affect correlate with a higher cancer risk not by exposing workers to cancerous environments as such, but rather by by promoting certain lifestyle features, such as cigarette breaks.
"Dust, asbestos, or chemicals, which directly come with the profession, only explain about four per cent of cancers suffered by men, and fewer among women."
"However, there are 500 of these cancers a year, and when the causes are recognised, they can be removed, which is already a big factor", Pukkala says.
Pukkala estimates that a lack of exercise is responsible for about 400 cases of breast cancer each year.
"If a person does not exercise, the body does not work as well. With men, the impact of the lack of exercise is not as clear as with women."
Factors contributing to cancer rates among mine and quarry workers include radon gas, rock dust, and asbestos. Finland's asbestos mines were closed down a long time ago, but the disease can break out decades after exposure. "In mining work, factors that promote cancer have been largely removed", Pukkala says.
Cancers among ship crews are linked with factors such as the asbestos insulation that was previously used in machine rooms, and occasional exposure to chemicals in cargo.
Seamen also frequently suffer from cancers caused by smoking and alcohol, such as cancers of the mouth larynx, liver, and the lungs.
Those working in the tobacco industry have been entitled to free cigarettes. Pukkala also notes that the air in cigarette factories has also had large amounts of carcinogenic substances.
Restaurant personnel have suffered from having to breathe large amounts of second-hand smoke.
Male journalists frequently have alcohol-related cancers, but they have fewer smoking-related cancers. Women journalists, for their part, have more than double the lung cancer risk of the average woman, apparently resulting from a higher rate of smoking.
Men in general tend to suffer from cancer more frequently than women.
The cancer risk among women teachers is slightly higher than that among women in General, and with woman doctors the risk is a quarter higher than among the female population at large. This is attributed to lengthy studies, resulting in a delay in the birth of the first child, and having fewer children, both of which are believed to increase the risk of breast cancer.
The cancer rate among male teachers and doctors is significantly below the average for all men.
Pukkala attributes the low cancer rate among farmers, garden workers, and forest workers to the beneficial exercise that comes with the job. Women in farming have traditionally smoked rarely, and had children early and more frequently.
"Farmers rarely get melanoma, because they rarely get sunburned. In addition, they eat vegetable-based foods", Pukkala says.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 25.3.2008 - TODAY |
 Workers at mines and quarries face highest cancer risk |
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