Carcinogenic substances, or carcinogens, are cancer-causing agents. A well-known example is asbestos, a substance that is responsible for thousands of victims who suffer and die because of exposure to the asbestos particles. Many other carcinogenic substances are less known, but please note: even natural products, such as hardwood dust, can cause cancer. Make sure that you know what you work with!
Types of carcinogenic substances
Cancer-causing agents manifest in different forms:
- Appearance: Carcinogenic agents can occur in products that are used in companies, including chemical variants like certain pesticides and industrial paints. But they can also be the result of a process (process-generated carcinogens) such as diesel emissions or welding fumes.
- Some carcinogens can be inhaled and may enter, for instance, the bloodstream and the organs, including the brain. Others may enter through the skin. Once carcinogens have entered in the body, they can damage the workers’ DNA or change the ways in which the cells of the bodies work and replicate. This can lead to cancer and other health problems.
- Natural products: Even natural products can cause cancer in case of high and long exposures, such as hardwood dust and silica and quartz in certain types of stone.
Check the factsheets for details about different carcinogenic substances.
Legislation on carcinogenic substances
To protect workers from exposure to cancer-causing agents, the EU has drawn up the Directive on carcinogens, mutagens or substances toxic to reproduction. In this directive the following procedures are prescribed:
- Risk assessment: The employer must check and manage the risk of being exposed to cancer-causing, mutagens (gene-changing), or reprotoxic (reproductive-harm) substances (CMR). This check must be done regularly.
- Prevention measures: Workers should not be exposed to CMR. The employer must use safer substances if possible. If using a closed system is not possible, exposure should be minimized. Exposure must not go over the allowed limit of a cancer-causing substance (read more: STOP-principle).
- Information and training: The employer must give proper training about the health risks, how to avoid exposure, hygiene rules, protective gear, and what to do in case of incidents.
- Health surveillance: If a biological limit value (see below) is set, health checks are required. Workers must be told about this before they start the risky task.
Occupational exposure limits
Regulatory authorities at EU and national levels set limits to exposure to hazardous substances, such as carcinogens. These occupational exposure limits (OELs) are regulatory values which indicate levels of exposure that are considered to be safe (health-based) for a chemical substance in the air of a workplace. Essentially, they serve as safety standards to protect workers’ health. Please check the factsheets for the occupational exposure .
The information on this page was derived from the following websites:
