The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) has refused to recommend that hairdressers, barbers and textile worker workers who develop lung cancer should qualify for industrial injuries benefit, despite exposure to dyes and other chemicals in these jobs being clearly associated with increased rates of the disease. An IIAC position paper concluded: “Having considered the evidence for working with exposure to certain chemicals, the council concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend adding bladder cancer in hairdressers, barbers and textile workers to the list of prescribed diseases for which people can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.”

Bladder cancer in hairdressers, barbers and textile workers, IIAC position paper 31.