Workers still face lung cancer risks

A study of 200,000 people in Europe and the USA has found that lung cancer caused by workplace exposure to hazardous substances is still widespread.

Researchers detected 18 occupations — mainly in agriculture, construction and metal processing — with an increased risk of lung cancer.

“Exposure to occupational lung carcinogens is still a problem,” they concluded, “with such exposures producing moderate to large increases in risk.”

F Veglia and others, “Occupational exposures, environmental tobacco smoke, and lung cancer”, Epidemiology, volume 18, number 6, pages 769-775, 2007