A study has confirmed the high numbers of lung cancers related to work. The research study in the Lombardy region of northern Italy showed significantly increasing risks of lung cancer for exposure to asbestos, crystalline silica and nickel-chromium exposure. The authors noted: “These findings support the substantial role of selected occupational carcinogens on lung cancer burden, even at low exposures, in a general population.” The real risk, particularly in certain jobs, is probably considerably higher than the study suggests. The Italian researchers did not evaluate the full, lengthy, list of suspected and known causes of work-related lung cancer. And high risks limited to certain occupations, for example the established lung cancer risk to miners from diesel exhaust, can be buried or missed entirely in broader studies of this type.

Sara de Matteis and others. Impact of occupational carcinogens on lung cancer risk in a general population. International Journal of Epidemiology, published Online First, 31 March 2012. OH-world.org blog. Risks 552.