According to a study that has just been made public by Public Health France in its Weekly epidemiological bulletin, in France 12% of employees, i.e. around 2.6 million people (2 million men and 600,000 women) were exposed at their workstation to at least one carcinogenic nuisance (chemical or not), and around 757 000 employees had exposure to at least two carcinogens (5.7% in men and 0.9% in women).
This study was conducted over the period 2009-2010 on a sample of 48,000 employees.
The employees concerned were mainly male construction and public works, maintenance, metalworking, transport and automobile repair workers. Among women, the most exposed belong to the health professions (nurses, midwives and nursing assistants). But there are also hairdressers, beauticians and personnel from the process industries.
What are the most frequent nuisances?
Among men, the most common nuisances were diesel engine emissions, whole mineral oils, wood dust and crystalline silica. Among women, the most common were night work, associated with a greater risk breast cancer, exposure to ionizing radiation, then to formaldehyde and the handling of cytostatic drugs (products used in the treatment of cancer).
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