Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
www.ccohs.ca
Common menu bar links
What are examples of occupational exposures that have been associated with exposure to carcinogens?
Examples of occupations and occupational groups that are more likely to have been exposed to carcinogens are listed in the following table.
Please note: This list was complied from information available from reputable sources, but it is not complete . It represents associations that have been reported in literature between occupations and examples of substances often linked to cancer that may have been used in the workplace.
Exposure to a carcinogen does not necessarily mean that you will develop cancer. The OSH Answers on Occupational Cancer has more information.
| Occupations or Occupational Groups Associated with Carcinogen Exposure | |
|---|---|
| Occupations and Occupational Groups | Suspect Substance |
| Aircraft and aerospace industries | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable); Ionizing radiation |
| Aluminum production | Aromatic amines; Pitch volatiles |
| Asbestos cement industry | Asbestos |
| Auramine manufacture | Auramine; 2-Naphthylamine; Pigments |
| Battery production workers | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Beryllium extraction and processing | Beryllium and beryllium compounds |
| Boot & shoe manufacture/repair | Leather dust, benzene & other solvents |
| Bus and truck drivers; Dock workers; Filling station attendants; Mechanics; Operators of excavating machines; Professional drivers; Railroad workers; Transport industry | Diesel engine exhaust |
| Cadmium-copper alloy workers; Cadmium-smelter workers | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Carpentry & joinery; Furniture & cabinet making | Wood dust |
| Ceramic production | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Chemical and rubber industries | Aromatic amines; 1,3-Butadiene |
| Chemical industry | Acrylamide |
| Chromate production plants; Chromium ferro-alloy production | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Coal gasification, coke production | Coal tar, coal-tar fumes; PAHs |
| Construction, Insulation and maintenance workers | Asbestos; Glass wool |
| Dry cleaning | Tetrachloroethylene; Trichloroethylene |
| Dyes and pigments production | Aromatic amines (e.g. 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl); Benzidine; Cadmium and cadmium compounds; Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Electrical capacitor manufacturing | Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) |
| Electronic production/industries | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Electroplating processes | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Fabric manufacture (heat-resistance) | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable) |
| Furnace insulators | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable) |
| Furniture restorers | Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Glass production | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Hairdressers & barbers | Aerosols, Dyes (aromatic amines, amino-phenols with hydrogen peroxide); Propellants; Solvents |
| Hematite mining; Uranium miners | Radon daughters; Silica |
| Herbicide production | Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts |
| Hospitals | Acrylamide; Ethylene oxide |
| Iron and steel founding | Formaldehyde; Metal fumes; PAHs; Silica |
| Isopropanol manufacture, strong-acid process | Diisopropyl sulfate; Isopropyl oils; Sulfuric acid |
| Jewellers | Beryllium and beryllium compounds |
| Leather manufacturing including tanning | Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts, Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Magenta manufacture | Magenta; 4,4'-methylene bis(2-methylaniline); ortho-Nitrotoluene; ortho-Toluidine |
| Manufacture of pottery, paper, paint and cosmetics | Talc containing asbestiform fibres |
| Metal degreasing | Tetrachloroethylene; Trichloroethylene |
| Metals industry | Strong-inorganic mists containing sulfuric acid |
| Mineral processing | Acrylamide |
| Miners (including underground) | Cobalt and cobalt compounds; Ionizing radiation |
| Mining and milling | Asbestos |
| Mining of ores containing arsenic | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Nickel refining and smelting; Welding | Nickel and nickel compounds |
| Nonferrous metal smelting | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Nuclear industries clean-up workers following nuclear accidents | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; Ionizing radiation |
| Outdoor workers | Solar radiation |
| Painters (construction, automotive industry and other users) | Not identified; Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Paint stripping; Cleaning and degreasing | 1,2,3-Trichloropropane |
| Perfume preparation; Epoxy resin formulations; Styrene glycol production; Manufacture of cosmetics, surface coatings, agricultural and biological chemicals | Styrene-7,8-oxide |
| Petroleum refining | Acrylamide; PAHs |
| Pharmaceutical production | Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Plastics industries | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable); Styrene |
| Plating and engraving; Lithography; Photography | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Plutonium workers | Ionizing radiation |
| Polyester resin manufacture; Production of packaging materials and fibreglass-reinforced polyester | Styrene |
| Printing processes | Inks; Solvents |
| Processing of copper and nickel ore | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Production | Ceramic fibres (refractory, aspirable); Dichloromethane (methylene chloride); Glass wool; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Styrene-7,8-oxide; Tetrachloroethylene; Trichloroethylene |
| Production and use of resins, glycerine and propylene-based rubbers | Epichlorohydrin |
| Production of art glass, glass containers, and pressed ware | Arsenic; Antimony oxides; Asbestos; Lead; PAHs; Silica |
| Production of polyvinyl chloride and co-polymers; Refrigerant (before 1974) | Vinyl chloride |
| Production, packaging, and use of arsenic-containing pesticides | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Radiologists and technologists; Radium-dial painters | Ionizing radiation |
| Sheep dip manufacture | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Sheet-metal workers | Asbestos |
| Shiftwork that involves circadian disruption | -- |
| Ship builders | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable) |
| Shipyard workers | Asbestos |
| Stainless-steel welding | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Steel and lumber industries | Acrylamide |
| Sugar production | Acrylamide |
| Textile manufacturing/industries | Acrylamide; Ceramic fibres (refractory, aspirable); Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts; Styrene-7,8-oxide; Textile dust in manufacturing process; Dyes and solvents in dyeing and printing operation |
| Water and wastewater treatment | Acrylamide; Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Wood manufacturing | Pentachlorophenol; Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts |
| Wood preservation | Chromium (VI) compounds; Pentachlorophenol |
| Wool fibre production | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Workers in bars and restaurants | Tobacco smoke |
Adapted from:
Boffetta, P, et al. Current perspectives on occupational cancer risks. International journal of occupational and environmental health, Vol. 1, no. 4 (1995). p. 315-325
Carex: Most Common Occupational Exposures to IARC Agents - Ontario/British Columbia, Canada 2001 Census Data - 09-Jan-08
Occupational Medicine Clinical Update - Occupational Carcinogens - What makes it on the list. Fall 2005 - Occupational Health Workers for Ontario Workers Inc. (OHCOW)
Siemiatycki, J, et al. Listing occupational carcinogens. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 112, no. 15 (2004). p. 1447-1459
Document last updated on March 3, 2008
Copyright ©1997-2013 Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety
