CAREX Communications

Announcements

Asbestos memorial unveiled in Vancouver, BC

A memorial, to honour the thousands who have died and continue to die from asbestos exposure, was unveiled on September 22, 2022, at the Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver.

Carcinogens in the News

Carcinogens in the News is a monthly digest of media articles, government reports, and academic literature related to the carcinogens we’ve classified as important for surveillance in Canada.

Calls for lower levels of diesel particulate exposure in Ontario mining

Canadian Occupational Safety – The United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6500 has partnered with the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health at Laurentian University and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers to work to change Ontario’s legislation for diesel particulate exposure in the mining industry. The USW Diesel Particulate Project is advocating for the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development to change the mining OEL for diesel engine exhaust to 20 µg/m3, which is the level recommended by both CAREX Canada and the Occupational Cancer Research Centre.

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Investigating reports of cancer clusters in Canada: A qualitative study of public health communication practices and investigation procedures

Public Health Agency of Canada – Public health officials provide an important public service responding to community concerns around cancer and often receive requests to investigate patterns of cancer incidence and communicate findings with citizens. In this study, procedures were identified for Canadian public health officials (PHOs) to follow when investigating reports of cancer clusters, and the challenges officials have faced when conducting risk communication with communities were explored. Differences in practices used to investigate suspected cancer clusters by PHOs were revealed. Establishing pan-Canadian guidelines could improve procedural consistency across jurisdictions and offer enhanced opportunities to compare cluster responses for evaluation. A reporting system to track reported clusters may improve information sharing across all levels of governments.

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Behaviour and socio-economic factors significantly affect radon exposure, study finds

University of Calgary – A new multidisciplinary study shows that people who act quickly to test for and mitigate radon gas in their homes are at a much lower risk of developing lung cancer long-term. The study found that people who act quickly to learn about, test for, and reduce exposure to radioactive radon gas in their homes could reduce their lifetime risk of lung cancer by as much as 40%, compared to those who do not. The researchers determined that, for a variety of reasons including economic barriers (i.e affordability) and delaying behaviours, three in five Canadians continue to live in homes with known high radon, despite being aware of the associated health risks.

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e-Bulletins

The CAREX Canada e-Bulletin is a biannual summary of the project news. This includes details on upcoming webinars, new publications, updates to estimates and tools, and more.

Fall 2022 e-Bulletin

IN THIS ISSUE
Spotlight on our updated interactive eWORK tool for exploring our occupational exposure estimates

Team updates – CAREX is pleased to welcome three new team members Disan Katende, Melanie Matté and Raissa Shrestha

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

Communications update – New video on how to use eWORK, recent stories from our Carcinogen in the News digest

Spring 2022 e-Bulletin

IN THIS ISSUE
Spotlight on our move to UBC – CAREX Canada now hosted at UBC, Dr. Peters’ new role

Updating resources – Wildfire smoke emerging issues summary

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

Communications update – New webinar recordings on our occupational exposure estimates and sun safety, recent stories from our Carcinogens in the News digest

Fall 2021 e-Bulletin

IN THIS ISSUE
Spotlight on occupational exposure estimates – Updates to our occupational exposure estimates, upcoming webinar

Team news – Dr. Anne-Marie Nicol’s changing role

Updating resources – Assessing carcinogen exposures in young and new workers, new profiles

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

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

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

© 2023 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.