Work-related cancers and other diseases were missed for years in workers employed by a Chesterfield plastics factory, a joint union and university study concluded in 2000. A total of 162 former employees of the Vinatex factory participated in a survey by Chesterfield Trade Union Safety Team (TRUST). Among other conditions, five cases of bladder cancer and five of skin cancer were identified, more than expected. The factory exposed workers to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the raw material for PVC and a known human carcinogen primarily linked to the liver angiosarcoma. The report of the survey, produced jointly with De Montfort University, concluded: “Only in January 2000 did the HSE search the HSE angiosarcoma register for cases involving Vinatex workers: this is a remarkable omission. The HSE could not then identify any angiosarcoma cases from the plant.” TRUST identified at least one angiosarcoma case missing from the HSE register.

Report on a health survey of ex-Vinatex workers, TRUST/Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, De Montfort University, June 2000. Reported in: How could you miss this?: A generation of cancers and ill-health, Hazards, number 72, October-December 2000. Also see 2009 Journal of Risk and Governance entry. The Vinatex study is featured in a 15 August 2000 TUC news release as an example of participatory research (see below).