Fall 2023 e-Bulletin

Fall 2023 e-Bulletin

SPOTLIGHT ON WILDFIRE SMOKE

Wildfires are intensifying in Canada, increasing the risk of adverse health effects for wildland firefighters

Wildfires are not a recent phenomenon in Canada, though the frequency and severity of fires are on the rise, as climate change continues to intensify weather conditions that increase the risk of wildfires. Of particular concern are the elevated rates of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in smoke, as well as other known or suspected carcinogens including benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and others.

Wildfire smoke can cause adverse health effects, and some populations, namely wildland firefighters, are at higher risk of these adverse health effects due to their proximity, increased respiration and at times, inadequate respiratory protection. The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently evaluated Occupational Exposure as a Firefighter and published a Monograph reviewing the evidence from epidemiological, animal, and mechanistic studies to assess the carcinogenic hazard to humans of occupational exposure as a firefighter. The Monograph concluded that occupational exposures experienced in firefighting increase the risk of bladder cancer and mesothelioma.

While the Government of Canada continues to update and enhance resources for the general public for staying safe in the midst of wildfire season, there have been questions raised about whether the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), the primary tool for measuring air quality in Canada, incorporates emerging knowledge about wildfire smoke. Our wildfire smoke summary is available here.

CAREX NEWS

New grant awarded to study workers exposed to climate change related extreme weather events

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Catalyst Grant will bring together experts at Toronto Metropolitan University, Health Canada, the National Public Health Institute of Quebec, Carleton University, CAREX Canada, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and WorkSafeBC. This research will follow our tested CAREX approach, in a novel new setting to estimate the proportions of workers exposed to climate change related extreme weather events across Canada. This research will also strengthen connections between researchers, occupational health organizations and governments in an effort to protect workers from the effects of the changing climate.

TEAM UPDATE

The CAREX Canada team is pleased to welcome new team member Emma Quinn

Based at the University of Calgary, Emma recently graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Master of Science in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. Emma has a deep interest in how occupational and environmental factors influence human health and has previously worked with CAREX Canada on research related to COVID-19 misinformation, occupational exposures of young workers and ionizing radiation exposure. Emma is currently exploring how sex and gender impact occupational cancer risk. Emma’s full biography can be found on our About Us page.

PUBLICATIONS

Our team recently published journal articles on CAREX-related research, including:

A full list of our publications is available here.

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

Webinar recording of Dr. Peters and Dr. Demers’ recent presentation about mesothelioma in Canada

Dr. Cheryl Peters and Dr. Paul Demers recently presented at the Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation’s 2023 Canadian Mesothelioma Conference in Toronto. In the lead up to the conference, they hosted a webinar to talk about current patterns of mesothelioma in Canada, the risk of exposure to asbestos and preventing future disease. To learn more about exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma visit our asbestos profile on our website. 

Top stories form our Carcinogens in the News digest

We’re featuring three stories that appeared in our Carcinogens in the News digest:

  • The Canadian Cancer Society recently released Canadian Cancer Statistics 2023 which provides detailed statistics on incidence, mortality and survival for over 20+ cancer types. An estimated 239,100 new cancer cases and 86,700 cancer deaths are expected in Canada in 2023. The most commonly diagnosed cancer is estimated to be lung overall, colorectal in males and breast in females.
  • The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) have released a climate change handbook for safety professionals in response to growing concerns over the impact of climate change on workers. The handbook offers guidance on how to identify, assess and control climate-related risks that could affect occupational health and safety.
  • The Ontario government have pledged to create Canada’s first-ever Occupational Exposure Registry to track harmful exposure levels, improve worker compensation, help diagnose workplace illnesses faster, and reduce costs to the healthcare system.

Other stories and reports can be viewed on our Carcinogens in the News page. To sign up for monthly Carcinogens in the News digest, visit our Subscribe page.

Please note that the CAREX Canada e-Bulletin is now a bi-annual digest. For more regular communications from us, please subscribe to Carcinogens in the News, a monthly digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada.

Subscribe to our newsletters

The CAREX Canada team offers two regular newsletters: the biannual e-Bulletin summarizing information on upcoming webinars, new publications, and updates to estimates and tools; and the monthly Carcinogens in the News, a digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada. Sign up for one or both of these newsletters below.

CAREX Canada

School of Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia
Vancouver Campus
370A - 2206 East Mall
Vancouver, BC  V6T 1Z3
CANADA

© 2024 CAREX Canada
Simon Fraser University

As a national organization, our work extends across borders into many Indigenous lands throughout Canada. We gratefully acknowledge that our host institution, the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus, is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

Spring 2023 e-Bulletin

Spring 2023 e-Bulletin

SPOTLIGHT ON DIESEL ENGINE EXHAUST

New special topics page highlights CAREX Canada’s research on diesel engine exhaust

CAREX Canada has developed a special topics page to highlight our resources on diesel engine exhaust, a carcinogen we identified as a high priority for exposure reduction. The special topics page features our occupational and environmental exposure estimates, maps of the predicted levels of diesel engine exhaust in outdoor air, and a webinar on diesel engine exhaust exposure and reduction in the workplace, presented in partnership with the Occupational Cancer Research Centre and the Ontario Occupational Disease Action Plan.

Research on setting an occupational exposure limit for diesel engine exhaust in Canadian workplaces is also presented. This includes a report that describes the regulatory landscape and key barriers and facilitators to setting occupational exposure limits in Canada, as well as a policy analysis to understand how an occupational exposure limit policy for diesel engine exhaust was developed and actioned for mines in Ontario.

The special topics page is available here.

Anne-Marie Nicol - Co-Principal Investigator

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Inequalities in environmental carcinogen exposures, sun safety messages for outdoor workers, occupational radon estimates, and surveillance of solar radiation-induced skin cancers

Our team recently published journal articles on CAREX-related research, including:

A full list of our publications is available here.

CAREX NEWS

New grants awarded to study shade inequalities in playgrounds, tailored sun safety messages for construction workers, communication of radon risk among First Nations communities

CAREX Canada researchers and collaborators, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Cheryl Peters and Senior Investigator Dr. Kristian Larsen, were recently awarded funding to expand our research on:

  • Assessing inequities in access to shade in playgrounds in Vancouver. This work is funded by the Provincial Health Services Authority.
  • Mobilizing tailored sun safety messages in the construction industry. This work is funded by WorkSafeBC’s Applied Innovation program and brings together experts from the Sun Safety at Work Canada Working Group.
  • Developing culturally appropriate, evidence-based tools to support community members from Kanesatake First Nation to understand risks associated with radon exposure. This work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Planning and Dissemination program and will be conducted in partnership with members from Kanesatake First Nation, the Food, Environment, Health and Nutrition of First Nations Children and Youth (FEHNCY) research group, Health Canada and Evict Radon.

TEAM UPDATE

Dr. Larsen’s changing role

Dr. Kristian Larsen, Senior Investigator at CAREX Canada, is now a Research Scientist in the Office of Environmental Health at Health Canada. He will continue to collaborate with CAREX Canada in this new position on research regarding inequalities in environmental carcinogens and chemical exposures.

​COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

Recent stories from our Carcinogens in the News digest

You can subscribe to our monthly Carcinogens in the News digest here.

Please note that the CAREX Canada e-Bulletin is now a bi-annual digest. For more regular communications from us, please subscribe to Carcinogens in the News, a monthly digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada.

Subscribe to our newsletters

The CAREX Canada team offers two regular newsletters: the biannual e-Bulletin summarizing information on upcoming webinars, new publications, and updates to estimates and tools; and the monthly Carcinogens in the News, a digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada. Sign up for one or both of these newsletters below.

CAREX Canada

School of Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia
Vancouver Campus
370A - 2206 East Mall
Vancouver, BC  V6T 1Z3
CANADA

© 2024 CAREX Canada
Simon Fraser University

As a national organization, our work extends across borders into many Indigenous lands throughout Canada. We gratefully acknowledge that our host institution, the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus, is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

Fall 2022 e-Bulletin

Fall 2022 e-Bulletin

SPOTLIGHT ON NEW INTERACTIVE TOOL

CAREX launches updated eWORK tool

​We are pleased to announce that our newly updated eWORK tool is now available. eWORK is an interactive tool for exploring CAREX Canada’s occupational exposure estimates to carcinogens. This new version of the tool allows for improved, customizable queries, and offers more in-depth results than the previous version of the tool. Results show the number of workers exposed to these carcinogens nationally, by province, by industry, and by occupation for the new 2016 estimates. It can answer queries such as:

  • What are the top carcinogen exposures in a particular industry?
  • What are the main industries exposed to a particular carcinogen?
  • How many workers are exposed to each carcinogen in a particular province?

eWORK can be accessed here or via the Resources tab on our website. More information about Canadians’ exposures to these carcinogens is available on the carcinogen profiles for each substance.

Anne-Marie Nicol - Co-Principal Investigator

TEAM NEWS

CAREX added three new team members

The CAREX Canada team is pleased to welcome new team members Disan Katende, Melanie Matté and Raissa Shrestha.

Based in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Disan recently graduated from UBC with a Master in Public Health. His past experience includes working with health research teams in sub-Saharan Africa on electronic data capture and analysis. He also worked with the Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN), and at British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Disan’s background in research, public health, and data analysis is a great addition to the CAREX Canada team.

Melanie is located at the University of Calgary and most recently worked at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as a Program Manager with the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health. Previously, she worked in the cancer screening program at Alberta Health Services. Melanie holds a Master in Public Health from UBC, and will be leading our collaborative work with Indigenous communities.

Raissa is also based in Vancouver at the UBC and recently graduated with Honours from the University of Toronto, with a Bachelor of Science in Cell & Systems Biology, Immunology and Statistics. Raissa worked as a Research Assistant with the Population Health Research Institute and McMaster University on an occupational epidemiology project, performing data analysis and collaborating on a systematic review, and she will be supporting our next update of our occupational exposure estimates.

Their full biographies can be found on the About Us page.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Prevalence and level of occupational exposure to asbestos and an analysis of COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace

Our team recently published journal articles on CAREX-related research, including:

A full list of our publications is available here.

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

New video on how to use the new eWORK tool

new video on how to use CAREX Canada’s updated eWORK tool is now available. This video provides an overview of eWORK, an interactive tool that allows users to conduct custom queries of the CAREX Canada’s occupational exposure estimates to carcinogens. A full list of CAREX Canada videos and webinar recordings is available here.

Recent stories from our Carcinogens in the News digest

We’re featuring two stories that appeared in our Carcinogens in the News digest:

The Canadian Cancer Statistics: A 2022 special report on cancer prevalence shows in 2018, an estimated 1.5 million people alive in Canada had been diagnosed with cancer in the previous 25 years; approximately 60% of whom were diagnosed 5 to 25 years ago. The rising prevalence is also attributable to rising cancer incidence, or more cases diagnosed. It is estimated that 233,900 people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2022.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluated the carcinogenicity of occupational exposure as a firefighter. The Working Group classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), on the basis of sufficient evidence for cancer in humans for mesothelioma and bladder cancer. There was limited evidence for cancer in humans for colon cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, melanoma of the skin, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

You can subscribe to our monthly Carcinogens in the News digest here.

Please note that the CAREX Canada e-Bulletin is now a bi-annual digest. For more regular communications from us, please subscribe to Carcinogens in the News, a monthly digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada.

Subscribe to our newsletters

The CAREX Canada team offers two regular newsletters: the biannual e-Bulletin summarizing information on upcoming webinars, new publications, and updates to estimates and tools; and the monthly Carcinogens in the News, a digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada. Sign up for one or both of these newsletters below.

CAREX Canada

School of Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia
Vancouver Campus
370A - 2206 East Mall
Vancouver, BC  V6T 1Z3
CANADA

© 2024 CAREX Canada
Simon Fraser University

As a national organization, our work extends across borders into many Indigenous lands throughout Canada. We gratefully acknowledge that our host institution, the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus, is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

Fall 2023 e-Bulletin

Spring 2022 e-Bulletin

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR MOVE TO UBC​

CAREX Canada now hosted at UBC, Dr. Peters’ new role

We are pleased to announce that CAREX Canada is now hosted at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) School of Population and Public Health in Vancouver, BC, where our Principal Investigator Dr. Cheryl Peters is a newly appointed Adjunct Professor. Dr. Peters also recently started her new position as Senior Scientist of Cancer Prevention at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and BC Cancer. This role was created to build a bridge between cancer prevention activities across the two organizations and to enhance cancer prevention research capacity in BC. We look forward to continuing our work on occupational and environmental health at UBC, with new partners at BCCDC, BC Cancer, and beyond.

UPDATING RESOURCES

Wildfire smoke emerging issues summary

A new emerging issues profile on environmental and occupational wildfire smoke exposure is now available. Wildfire smoke contains several known or suspected carcinogens, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), benzenepolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and others, but the long-term health effects from acute, periodic exposures to this smoke are still unknown. This is a focus of emerging research as wildfire season in Canada continues to become longer and more extreme as climate change creates weather conditions that increase the risk of these fires. Some populations are more vulnerable to adverse health effects following wildfire smoke exposure including seniors, people working outdoors (including wildland firefighters), children, pregnant people, and those with existing health conditions.

The new wildfire smoke summary is available here.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Young workers’ exposure to carcinogens and diesel engine exhaust in construction

Our team recently published journal articles on CAREX-related research, including:

A full list of our publications is available here.

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

New webinar recordings on our occupational exposure estimates and sun safety at work

A recording of our recent webinar on CAREX Canada’s updated occupational exposure estimates and the future of workplace cancer prevention is now available. This webinar provides an overview of our new estimates of occupational exposure to carcinogens (updated from 2006 to 2016), as well as an expert panel discussion about the challenges and opportunities in occupational cancer prevention. Panelists include Drs. Mary Schubauer-Berigan (IARC), Calvin Ge (TNO in the Netherlands), and Paul Demers (OCRC). A full list of CAREX Canada videos and webinar recordings is available here.

The Radiation Safety Institute of Canada recently held a webinar on solar radiation exposure at work, where Dr. Cheryl Peters provided an overview of what workers are at greatest risk of occupational exposure to solar radiation, the associated health effects, best practices for reducing exposure, and more. A recording of this webinar is available here

Recent stories from our Carcinogens in the News digest

This month, we’re featuring two stories that appeared in our Carcinogens in the News digest:

  • The Canadian Cancer Society has released their Canadian Cancer Statistics publication, which provides new, detailed statistics on incidence, mortality, and survival by sex, age group, geographic region, and time period for 20+ cancer types in Canada. An estimated 233,900 new cancer cases and 85,100 cancer deaths are expected in Canada in 2022, with the most commonly diagnosed cancers to be lung overall, breast in females, and prostate in males.
  • The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Magazine highlighted some of the challenges around occupational exposure limits to diesel engine exhaust in underground mines across Canada. Our Principal Investigator Dr. Cheryl Peters shared findings from our related research on this work.

You can subscribe to our monthly Carcinogens in the News digest here.

Please note that the CAREX Canada e-Bulletin is now a bi-annual digest. For more regular communications from us, please subscribe to Carcinogens in the News, a monthly digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada.

Subscribe to our newsletters

The CAREX Canada team offers two regular newsletters: the biannual e-Bulletin summarizing information on upcoming webinars, new publications, and updates to estimates and tools; and the monthly Carcinogens in the News, a digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada. Sign up for one or both of these newsletters below.

CAREX Canada

School of Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia
Vancouver Campus
370A - 2206 East Mall
Vancouver, BC  V6T 1Z3
CANADA

© 2024 CAREX Canada
Simon Fraser University

As a national organization, our work extends across borders into many Indigenous lands throughout Canada. We gratefully acknowledge that our host institution, the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus, is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

Fall 2021 e-Bulletin

Fall 2021 e-Bulletin

SPOTLIGHT ON OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE ESTIMATES

Updates to our occupational exposure estimates, upcoming webinar

​We are pleased to announce that we have updated our suite of occupational exposure estimates for over 40 known or suspected carcinogens, including asbestos, solar radiation, and silica. These estimates, updated from 2006 to 2016, include the number of workers exposed to carcinogens by industry, occupation, province, sex, and exposure level (when available).

Our results show that there has been an increase in the number of workers exposed to some key carcinogens in Canada over time*. For example:

  • The number of workers exposed to asbestos increased from 152,000 to 235,000, up 55% from 2006 to 2016.
  • Approximately 7 million workers are exposed to solar radiation, which represents a 12% increase from 2006 to 2016.
  • The number of workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust increased by approximately 8%, for a total of 966,000 workers exposed.
  • Approximately 429,000 workers are exposed to crystalline silica, a 12% increase from 2006 to 2016.

*Note: Many of the changes observed in the 2016 estimates reflect changes in the Canadian labour force. For asbestos, however, the increase was primarily driven by the identification of additional occupations where exposure may occur that were not included in our 2006 estimate.

The new 2016 estimates can be viewed on the occupational exposures tab of select carcinogen profiles.

Our occupational exposure summaries have also been redesigned and updated with our new estimates. These documents summarize CAREX Canada data and resources by occupation (e.g. welders), industry (e.g. construction, mining), cancer site (e.g. lung carcinogens), and more. The summaries are available here.

Are you interested in learning more about our updated occupational exposure estimates and workplace cancer prevention? We are hosting a webinar on January 25, 2022 that will walk you through our results, share how they can be used to help inform cancer prevention activities, and discuss what’s next in occupational cancer prevention with three experts in the field: Drs. Mary Schubauer-Berigan, Calvin Ge, and Paul Demers. Register here.

Anne-Marie Nicol - Co-Principal Investigator

TEAM NEWS

Dr. Anne-Marie Nicol’s changing role

In early 2022, Dr. Anne-Marie Nicol will be moving on from her role as CAREX Canada’s co-Principal Investigator, and Dr. Cheryl Peters will be taking over as lead Principal Investigator. Please join us in thanking Dr. Nicol for her incredible work with CAREX Canada. Her contributions and expertise have been a valued asset to our team. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

A message from Dr. Nicol

Over the past 15 years, I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with a fantastic and talented group of people at CAREX Canada. I want to thank them, along with our many stakeholders and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer for making CAREX Canada the unique and successful resource that it is today.

With best wishes,
Anne-Marie

UPDATING RESOURCES

Assessing carcinogen exposures in young and new workers

Young and new workers are often at greater risk of injury on the job, but little is known about their increased vulnerabilities to carcinogen exposures at work. Many unique characteristics of these populations may put them at higher risk of exposure, including limited workplace experience and inadequate safety training. We conducted a review to identify workplaces where young and new workers might be at higher risk of exposures, including those with a large number of young or new workers and a higher number of potential exposures. We found that young and new workers in the construction industry, young workers in farming and other outdoor jobs, and new workers in the accommodation and food services sector may be at greatest risk for exposure to carcinogens.

The key findings of this research can be found in the research briefs and summary here.

New carcinogen profiles for acrolein and 1-bromopropane

Profiles for acrolein and 1-bromopropane are now available. Acrolein is a chemical synthesized for use as a pesticide in Canada, and is also generated during natural processes (e.g. during forest fires) and through human-driven activities (e.g. during the combustion of organic materials including fuels, high temperature cooking, smoking). In 2020, acrolein was classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). The new acrolein profile is available here.

1-Bromopropane is used as a solvent in the spray adhesive industry to manufacture polyurethane foam cushions, as a vapour degreasing agent, and as a cleaning solvent for metals, plastics, optical, and electronic components. Workers are primarily exposed through inhalation and dermal contact, with aerosol applications leading to higher exposures. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies 1-bromopropane as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). The new 1-bromopropane profile is available here.

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE

New pesticide webinar recording, overview video, and a podcast on radon

A recording of our webinar on occupational and environmental pesticide exposures is now available. This webinar discusses exposures to three commonly used pesticides in Canada – glyphosate, 2,4-D, and chlorothalonil – among agricultural workers and residents living near agricultural areas, and provides an overview of our new pesticide exposure estimates.

We’ve also updated our CAREX Canada overview video, which includes a tour of our website and a summary of the resources and tools that we offer. The videos are available here.

Our co-Principal Investigator Dr. Cheryl Peters recently spoke to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) on their podcast to discuss workplace radon exposures and the impact the pandemic has had on radon exposures at work and at home. The podcast episode is available here.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Cancer and the environment project, safe handling of antineoplastic drugs, and radon in schools

Our team recently published several journal articles on CAREX-related research, including:

A full list of our publications is available here.

Please note that the CAREX Canada e-Bulletin is now a bi-annual digest. For more regular communications from us, please subscribe to Carcinogens in the News, a monthly digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada.

Subscribe to our newsletters

The CAREX Canada team offers two regular newsletters: the biannual e-Bulletin summarizing information on upcoming webinars, new publications, and updates to estimates and tools; and the monthly Carcinogens in the News, a digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada. Sign up for one or both of these newsletters below.

CAREX Canada

School of Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia
Vancouver Campus
370A - 2206 East Mall
Vancouver, BC  V6T 1Z3
CANADA

© 2024 CAREX Canada
Simon Fraser University

As a national organization, our work extends across borders into many Indigenous lands throughout Canada. We gratefully acknowledge that our host institution, the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus, is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.