2 370 000 employees - ie 13.5% of the spectrum - are exposed regularly to one or more carcinogenic products, says a French study published in July 2005.
The study called SUMER 2003, was driven by the French Ministry of Employment in the framework of the Plan "Health at Work". Its goal was to measure wage-earners exposure to carcinogenic chemicals.
The one-year study was conducted by 1,800 ocupational health professionals. They had to identify the level of exposure to chemical products for 50,000 employees, during the week before the test was carried.
Figures reveals that workers are by far the most vulnerable population (70% of the spectrum). Gender is also a striking feature: Men are 4 time more at risk that women (which is linked to sectors where risks are higher and where the working force is mainly masculine).
Even if 50% of exposures are punctual, 25% remain important either because of the length of exposure, or the lack of personal protection.
Criteria used to define carcinogenic chemicals
Amongst the 83 products taken into account, 28 are identified as carcinogenic.
The study used the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classification, instead of the European classification. The IARC standards are broader and result in more products considered as carcinogenic.
According to the European Directive on "the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work" (2004/37/EC), the study would list only 6.3% employees which are exposed to chemicals, whereas the results are doubled (13.3%) when we take into account IARC standards.
This evaluation will be used to introduce a better monitoring of working conditions and exposure to chemicals in line with the REACH proposal.
