A report released this fall profiling the effects of 11 priority carcinogens on the health of Ontario workers based on sector has found construction workers are particularly vulnerable to three cancer-causing substances — asbestos, silica and arsenic — and to exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
The report prepared by the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) and Cancer Care Ontario found that over 120,000 construction workers were exposed to UV radiation in the province each year, significantly more than the next most exposed workforce, workers in the agricultural sector. The result is that the construction sector accounts for 27 per cent of the 1,400 total annual instances of non-melanoma skin cancer recorded in the industry breakdown.
Among other carcinogens studied, construction workers accounted for 25 per cent of the total percentage of lung cancers and mesotheliomas attributed to occupational asbestos exposure; they represented more than half (51 per cent) of the total lung cancers determined to be caused by silica exposure; and construction workers represented three of every 10 victims of lung cancers attributed to occupational arsenic exposure.
Titled Burden of Occupational Cancer in Ontario: Major Workplace Carcinogens and Prevention of Exposure, the study was released in October.
Paul Demers, OCRC director and an author of the report, explained the research was undertaken as part of a large national project in an attempt to estimate the full impact of exposure to workplace carcinogens in Canada for the first time at this level.
“There has always been an under-recognition of workplace cancer,” Demers said.
“The idea was that by putting numbers to the problems and saying how many cancers are caused we could raise awareness about this and also give a push to creating a change in policies not only at a government level but also encouraging employers to take voluntary actions to reduce exposure.”
Among reform initiatives recommended in the report relating to the four carcinogens that most affect the construction sector, only one, regulating exposure to silica, would require regulatory change.
The report noted 142,000 Ontario workers are exposed to crystalline silica dust each year, with 20 new lung cancer cases each year. But construction project employers and workers are exempt from the Designated Substances Regulation (O. Reg. 490/09, section 14), which requires employers to monitor silica in their workplaces, Demers explained.
The report calls for the removal of that exemption and refers to ongoing public consultation on amending O. Reg. 490/09 so that it applies to construction workers.
“At the time of writing, this consultation proposal is still under review. Given the large amount of these exposures on construction projects and their associated cancer burden, it is recommended that construction project employers and workers be legally required to comply with O. Reg. 490/09,” the report stated.
A Ministry of Labour spokesperson said the construction industry’s Provincial Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee has studied exposure to over 750 materials in recommending changes to Regulation 833 (Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents) to apply to the construction sector. Recommendations related to Reg. 833 were adopted by the ministry and came into force July 1, 2016. The working group did not make recommendations on O. Reg. 490/09.
For asbestos, which was recently the subject of a ban at the federal level, the report calls for the creation of a public registry of all public buildings and workplaces that contain asbestos — echoing a recommendation of the federal initiative — and for the establishment of an inter-ministerial working group to address occupational asbestos exposure.
Demers said the ban on asbestos is welcome but still there are generations of buildings that remain problems.
“There are so many buildings where it is being encountered now, and that will continue on for many years,” he said.
Demers noted the use of arsenic to treat wood has diminished significantly in recent times and the report recommends its use be avoided as it falls out of favour.
As for sun exposure, the authors recommend the industries take the lead, with workplaces with workers that work outdoors urged to develop a comprehensive sun safety program.
Demers said the recommendation enables employers and employees to gear solutions to their particular workplace environments.
“Every workplace is going to be different, every new job is a different challenge,” he said.
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