When assessing the impact of work cancers on the working population, it is also important to note that almost all the risk is concentrated in a relatively small section of the workforce. Work-related cancer is far more common in blue-collar workers – there is an undeniable correlation between employment in lower status jobs and an increased risk. The World Health Organisation notes: “Occupational cancers concentrate among specific groups of the working population. For these people the risk of developing a particular form of cancer may be much higher than for the general population.”

Prevention of occupational cancer, World Health Organisation (WHO) GOHNET newsletter, number 11, 2006.