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The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that at least 200,000 people die every year from cancers related to their workplaces. According to the UN agency, the main cause for these deaths is inhaling asbestos fibres and second-hand tobacco smoke.
WHO told that every 10th lung cancer death is due to occupational hazards.Almost 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos during the work and as a result, every year at least 90,000 deaths take place.
Asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs naturally in our environment. It becomes a risk if asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are disturbed or damaged and asbestos fibres are released into the air and inhaled into the lungs. The fibres can remain there for a long time as they are not easily destroyed or degraded. This can lead to so many health hazards particularly if a person is repeatedly exposed to asbestos fibres over a number of years. It can cause diseases like asbestosis, a chronic disease of the lungs that makes breathing more and more difficult and mesothelioma, a cancer of the membranes that line the chest and abdomen.
Apart from asbestos, there is one more substance which is being used in the industries and causes many leukaemia deaths. It is benzene. Benzene is an organic compound used in rubbers, dyes, drugs, and pesticides, widely used in chemical and diamond industries.
WHO said those exposed to second-hand smoke at work have twice the risk of lung cancer than those in a smoke-free environment.
Maria Neira, the WHO director of public health and environment suggested governments and industry to tighten safety standards. She said that the usage of benzene-free organic solvents and a tobacco ban in the workplace could help prevent thousands of deaths.
“Known exposures are responsible for hundreds of thousands of excess cancer cases each year,” she added.
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