Aotearoa / New Zealand

The article lists the carcinogens:

• benzene (30%)
• solar UV (27%)
• UV exposure to the eye (26%)
• diesel engine exhaust (24%)
• second-hand tobacco smoke (15%)
• styrene (12%)
• crystalline silica (10%)
• shift work (9%)
• wood dust (8%)
• other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (8%).

The main tasks associated with benzene exposure are fuelling vehicles and equipment with petrol, using petrol or other solvents to clean hands and using solvent-based paints. The industries with the highest exposure to at least one carcinogen are mining, electricity and gas, water and waste services, construction, transport, postal and warehousing, and primary industries (agriculture, forestry, fishing).

They also mention the difficulty of tying work exposure to actual cancer diagnoses:

Establishing the number of workplace injuries is relatively straightforward but investigation of work-related cancers is much more difficult because:

• there is often a long latency period between work exposure and the onset of disease
• it is difficult to attribute a particular cancer to a specific exposure
• very few cancers are the result of a single occupational exposure (asbestosis in asbestos-exposed workers is an exception)
• hazardous exposures often cluster in work environments
• lifestyle factors (e.g. smoking) also contribute to cancer risk.

Therefore, understanding the prevalence, frequency and distribution of exposure to work-related carcinogens is crucial.