At least 200Â 000 people die every year from cancers related to their workplaces, mainly from inhaling asbestos fibres and second-hand tobacco smoke, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.
The United Nations agency said every 10th lung cancer death is related to occupational hazards, and about 125-million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos at work, leading to at least 90Â 000 deaths each year.
Thousands more die of leukaemia from workplace exposure to benzene — an organic compound used in rubbers, dyes, drugs, and pesticides, widely used in chemical and diamond industries — and those exposed to second-hand smoke at work have twice the risk of lung cancer than those in a smoke-free environment.
”Known and preventable exposures are clearly responsible for hundreds of thousands of excess cancer cases each year,” Maria Neira, WHO director of public health and environment, said in a statement released in Geneva.
The WHO urged governments and industry to tighten safety standards to ensure workers are not exposed to carcinogens. Stopping the use of asbestos, using benzene-free organic solvents and banning tobacco in the workplace could help prevent hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths, it said. — Reuters