More than 1 in 8 workers in France was exposed to workplace substances that can cause cancer, according to latest figures. An analysis of data from the SUMER survey 2003 indicates 2,370,000 workers, 13.5 per cent of the total French workforce, were exposed to one or more of a list of 28 workplace carcinogens in 2003. The figure was higher than estimates a decade earlier. Blue collar workers were more than eight times as likely to be exposed to a carcinogen at work, with 25 per cent exposed, compared to managers, with just 3 per cent exposed. Young and temporary workers were also at greater risk.
