Each year, more than 1,800 occupational cancers are diagnosed in France, compared to 540 in 1998.
In France, 1,940 cases of cancer were recorded in 2017 according to health insurance. Since 1998, they have been multiplied by 3.6. Asbestos is the main cause of these occupational diseases.
Occupational cancers are the consequence of exposure to a carcinogenic factor, such as a product or a process, in the context of work. In most cases, they affect the respiratory tract. The most common is cancer of the pleura, followed by lung cancer and ENT cancers. According to Cancer Research Foundationbetween 4 and 8.5% of cancers have an occupational origin.
An increase in cases considered logical
According to David Khayat, oncologist and founder of the National Cancer Institute, interviewed by Yahoo News, the increase in the number of cases in 20 years is not surprising. “The contamination of workers with heavy metals and toxic substances and the contamination of farmers with pesticides dates from the 1950s to the 1980s. After the war nobody paid attention to anything, he underlines. It was only afterwards that we started to make efforts by wearing masks. As it takes 20, 30 or 40 years to get cancer, they are only coming out now.”
Forty carcinogens identified
Asbestos is responsible for 80% of cases of occupational cancer between 2016 and 2017. Apart from this material, Health Insurance lists around forty agents responsible for occupational cancers: wood dust, benzene, tar, asphalts, etc. In 2010, 2.2 million employees were exposed to at least one carcinogenic factor in the course of their work.
Men are more affected
According to’National Cancer Institute, occupational cancers represent 4% of cases in men, against 0.5% in women. This can be explained by the nature of the jobs held by men, since 80% of cases of male occupational cancers concern blue-collar workers. The employment sectors most affected are metallurgy, construction, the wood industry and chemicals.
In addition to cancers, Health Insurance lists more than 50,000 cases of occupational disease between 2013 and 2017. These are mainly musculoskeletal disorders.
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