The UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988, which took effect in January 1990, put a new emphasis on substitution of dangerous chemicals and processes with less dangerous ones. This mirrored the approach promoted by unions for years, including campaigns to rid workplaces of asbestos, carcinogenic dyes, the weedkiller 2,4,5-T, wood preservatives, organic solvents and isocyanates. It also brought UK legislation closer to that in in many developed nations in Europe and better practice in North America. But Hazards magazine warns to secure real improvements requires information, organisation and union vigilance.

Safer alternatives, Hazards, number 31, December 1990.

An investigation conducted in the Swedish glass industry found workers in the industry may be at an increased risk of death from lung or colon cancer. The study, which was based at the largest glassworks in Sweden, traced the cause of death of over 600 past employees. Lung cancer deaths were 1.4 to 2.4 times higher than the national or county figures. Colon cancer deaths were at approximately 2.5 times the level in the general population. The findings support those of several other reports.

G Wingren and V Englander. Mortality and cancer morbidity in a cohort of Swedish glassworkers, International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, volume 62, pages 253-257, 1990.

Two US studies reported increased incidence of certain cancers among male firefighters.

An investigation of cancer cases in the US state of Massachussetts between 1982 and 1986 found the incidence of melanoma was three times greater in firefighters than in other occupations. Bladder cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were also more frequent among firefighters, with an incidence that was 1.6 times that of other occupations.

A second study looked only at cases of cancer that resulted in death. One 2,000 Seattle firefighters employed between 1945 and 1983 were investigated. Compared to other occupations, the researchers found increases in deaths among firefighters from the blood cancers leukaemia and myeloma.

For firefighters with at least 30 years service, death from leukaemia was increases five times and myeloma nine times. The authors of both studies identified benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and asbestos as key carcinogen exposures.

A third report looking at birth defects in the offspring of firefighers identified about 50 chemical exposures faced by firefighters, many of the substances linked to cancer.

Many jurisdictions, notably in the US, Canada and Australia, have since introduced presumptive legislation, granting compensation automatically to many firefighters suffering a number of named cancers.

SR Sama and others. Cancer incidence among Massachussetts firefighters, 1982-86, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, volume 18, issue 1, pages 47-54, 1990.
N Heyer and others. Cohort mortality study of Seattle firefighters: 1945-1983, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, volume 17, issue 4, pages 493-504, 1990.
AF Olshan and others. Birth defects among offspring of firemen, American Journal of Epidemiology, volume 131, pages 312-321, 1990.

The association between employment in motor exhaust-related occupations and the risk for lung cancer was examined in 2,291 male cases of lung cancer and 2,570 controls in data pooled from three US case control studies carried out by the National Cancer Institute between 1976 and 1983. The researchers concluded that workers in motor-exhaust related occupations had a 50 per cent higher rate of lung cancer than in other occupations, after accounting for smoking. The authors note: “The 50 per cent excess risk for lung cancer associated with employment in motor exhaust-related occupations could not be explained by greater use of cigarettes or by other occupational exposures among these workers.”

R Hayes and others. Lung cancer in motor exhaust-related occupations, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, volume 16, number 6, pages 685-695, 1989.

Researchers in the US identified a link between paternal exposure to low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) at work and higher rates of nervous system cancers in their offspring. The study investigated 499 childhood nervous system cancers occurring in Texas over a 17 year period, comparing them to 998 randomly selected controls. Children who had died of these cancers were 1.6 times more likely to have had fathers whose work involved exposure to low frequency EMFs. Highlighted occupations were electricians, where the odds ratio was 3.5, and those involved in electronic component manufacture and assembly. The authors noted: “The additional presence of chemical exposures in these diverse occupations and industries must also be considered.”

CC Johnson and MR Splitz. Childhood nervous system tumours: An Assessment of Risk Associated with Paternal Occupations Involving Use, Repair or Manufacture of Electrical and Electronic Equipment, International Journal of Epidemiology, volume 18, number 4, pages 756-762, 1989.

Petroleum refinery workers have an excess of skin cancer and leukaemia, with this work rated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as probably carcinogenic in humans (group 2A). Petrol, heavy fuel oil and marine diesel were classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (group 2B), with some evidence of excess of cancer of the stomach and pancreas (petrol) and lung and prostate (diesel). IARC found there was insufficient evidence to categorise jet fuels, light fuel oils and crude oil as human carcinogens, despite supportive animal evidence.

Occupational exposure in petroleum refining: Crude oil and major petroleum fuels, Monograph volume 45, IARC, 1989.

The UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSHH) became law in October 2008 and took effect on 1 January 1990. The law covered all workplaces where hazardous substances are used or arise as byproducts. They require substances to have been subjected to a risk assessment prior to use, prompting Hazards magazine to advise in September 1989: “No assessment by 1 January 1990 – no work with hazardous substances.” It told workplace safety reps: “Get trained, get organised, get geared up for COSHH.” The magazine warned that what should have been the most important piece of health and safety legislation since the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act would not be because it would not be adequately enforced. It said though that the new regulations “provide a good basis for safety reps to negotiate the control of hazardous substances at their workplace.”

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations factsheet, Hazards, number 25, September 1989. HSE COSHH webpages.

In August 1989 the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, decided there was “insufficient evidence to recommend prescription” of cancer of the larynx, which would have meant some sufferers who working in linked occupations or who at related exposures at work would be eligible for state compensation. Many occupational exposures have been linked to cancer of the larynx, including metalworking fluids and mineral oils; natural fibres including asbestos; some evidence for wood dust; exposure to reactive chemicals including sulphuric acids. There have also been excesses reported in rubber workers, nickel refining, and mustard gas and chemical production.

Cancer of the Larynx, Cm 779, IIAC, August 1989.

In December 1986, US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) EPA published a proposal under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) “to prohibit the manufacture, importation, and processing of asbestos in certain products and to phase out the use of asbestos in all other products.” The Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule was finalised in July 1989, but was struck down in federal court in 1991 after an industry challenge and never took effect.

Restrictions and Proposed Manufacturing, Importation, and Processing Prohibitions, Federal Register 3738 (29 January 1986).
Corrosion ProofFittings, et al v. EPA, 947 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1991).
David Michaels and Celeste Monforton. How litigation shapes the scientific literature, Journal of Law and Policy, volume 15, issue 3, pages 1137-1169, 2007.

The International Agency for Researcher on Cancer evaluated the occupation of “painter” as a top rated group 1 carcinogen. As well as concluding “occupational exposure as a painter is carcinogenic”, IARC said there was “inadequate” evidence for the carcinogenicity of occupational exposures in paint manufacture. The conclusion on painters was based on three large studies and on national cancer statistics. These indicated that for all cancers painters were about 20 per cent above the average and for lung cancers this increased to a 40 per cent higher rate of developing the disease.

IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, volume 47, Some organic solvents, resin monomers and related compounds, pigments and occupational Exposures in paint manufacture and painting, 1989