A racial inequality in occupational cancer risks has been reported in a number of studies, notes Linda Rae Murray. She concludes: “The exposure-related attributes involve discrimination in the workplace that may result in job ghettos and disproportionate exposure to certain hazards. Studies should be designed to address the questions of how class, race, and ethnicity differentially effect occupational health risks, and how class and race/ethnicity affect exposure- and susceptibility-related attributes. Such studies might help us unravel how socioeconomic factors, race, and ethnicity contribute to occupational health injury and disease.” The 2005 UMASS Lowell report (Clapp and others) also highlights racial inequalities in occupational cancer risks, noting: “Unequal workplace exposures among different populations provide further indications of the ability of occupational exposures to cause harm.” It adds that studies in the US steel industry found the highest rates of lung cancer – 10 times expected – were in non-white workers, employed in the highest risk jobs. Other examples, including chromate workers, are cited in the Murray paper.

Murray LR. Sick and tired of being sick and tired: Scientific evidence, methods, and research implications for racial and ethnic disparities in occupational health, American Journal of Public Health, volume 93, pages 221-226, 2003.