A government-commissioned report from the French research agency Inserm makes wide-ranging recommendations, many relating to prevention of workplace and related risks. It notes: “The impact of an environmental factor on the cancer risk depends both on its link with this cancer and the prevalence of exposure to this factor in the population. An environmental factor conferring an even low or moderate increase in the risk of cancer will therefore have a high impact if it is very widespread in the general population. On the contrary, a potent carcinogenic factor will only have a low impact if

very few people are exposed to it. In many cases this evaluation of the impact of environmental factors is still restricted by the lack of data making it possible to quantify exposure throughout the lifetime of exposed populations and to specify co-exposures. Progress must be made in evaluating the effects of chronic exposure at low doses. This is a major public health issue as it concerns a large proportion of the population.”

Cancer and the Environment – A collective expert report, Inserm, 2 October 2008.