The primary industrial groups exposed are within the sawmill and wood preservation industry and electric power generation (transmission and distribution). Other important exposed groups include utility system construction and rail transportation.

The occupational groups with the largest numbers of workers exposed include: construction trades helpers and labourers, electrical power line and cable workers, labourers in wood, pulp and paper processing, and railway yard and track maintenance workers. Other occupations that may also be exposed include fence and bridge construction workers and site remediation workers.[2]

According to the Burden of Occupational Cancer in Canada project, occupational exposure to creosotes leads to possibly 95 non-melanoma skin cancers each year in Canada, based on past exposures (1961-2001). [3,4] This amounts to 0.1% of all non-melanoma skin cancers diagnosed annually. Most cancers related to creosotes occur among workers in the manufacturing, transportation & warehousing, and construction sectors.[4]

Our Occupational Approach page outlines the general approach used to calculate prevalence and exposure level estimates for workplace exposures.

Data Sources

Data used in developing the occupational estimates for creosotes were collected from several sources:

1. Canadian and US scientific peer reviewed publications that addressed creosote exposure in Canada and the United States.
2. Grey literature including technical reports from governments and international bodies.

Prevalence Estimate Method

CAREX defines exposure to creosotes as the potential for inhalation or dermal contact with creosotes at work at levels exceeding those encountered in non-occupational settings.

To determine the number of workers potentially exposed to creosotes at work, CAREX occupational exposure experts used methods previously established in other peer-reviewed CAREX projects in Europe. A series of steps were taken to assign exposure proportions to occupations and industries at risk of exposure to creosotes.

1. Occupations and industries at risk of possible exposure to creosotes were identified using any combination of data sources described above.
2. The total number of workers in each identified occupation and industry intersection was obtained from Statistics Canada 2016 census data.
3. A percentage of workers exposed was assigned to that occupation and industry intersection. Percentages were determined by consultation with existing evidence in the data sources, previously established methods from the Europe CAREX estimates and the expert judgement of CAREX occupational hygienists.
4. The number of workers in the identified group is multiplied by the assigned percentage to calculate the prevalence estimate of workers exposed to creosotes.