Carcinogens in the News

The Guardian – New research has linked air pollution nanoparticles to brain cancer for the first time. The ultra-fine particles (UFPs) are produced by fuel burning, particularly in diesel vehicles, and higher exposures significantly increase people’s chances of getting the deadly cancer. Previous work has shown that nanoparticles can get into the brain and that they can carry carcinogenic chemicals.
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IARC – An Advisory Group of 29 scientists from 18 countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in March 2019 to recommend priorities for the IARC Monographs programme during 2020–2024. The Advisory Group recommended a broad range of agents with high, medium, or low priority for evaluation. High priority agents include metalworking fluids, sedentary behavior, acrylamide, gasoline, firefighting, acetaldehyde, bisphenol A, and more.
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AP News – A yearlong investigation by more than 120 journalists from nine universities and 10 media organizations, including The Associated Press and the Institute for Investigative Journalism at Concordia University in Montreal , collected test results that properly measure exposure to lead in 11 cities across Canada. Out of 12,000 tests since 2014, one-third — 33% — exceeded the national safety guideline of 5 parts per billion; 18% exceeded the U.S. limit of 15 ppb.
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Workers Health & Safety Centre – Evidence of the link between night shift work and cancer has been mounting for over a decade, but a new Canadian cancer burden study finds we can’t wait for more definite proof. The new study, entitled “The Impact of night shift work on breast cancer: Results from the Burden of Occupational Cancer in Canada Study”, found an estimated two to 5.2 per cent of the newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer in women in 2011 were attributable to night shift work.
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Occupational and Environmental Medicine – Researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the association between exposure to asbestos and colorectal cancer. Although the effect size was small and the heterogeneity among studies was large, their findings indicate that occupational exposure to asbestos is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, and that the risk of colorectal cancer mortality increases as the level of asbestos exposure rises.
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Occupational Cancer Research Centre – Asbestos was historically used in many public buildings in Canada, including schools, and little is known about how asbestos is managed in school settings. Custodial workers in schools have been identified as at-risk for potential exposure to asbestos during routine housekeeping or maintenance work. This report summarizes the findings from an evaluation of Ontario custodial workers’ awareness of asbestos management in schools.
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Chemical Watch – The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has outlined the “motivation and methodology” for the update to its monographs programme. In a commentary paper, IARC provides justification for changes to the programme’s “preamble”, which describes the procedures for the evaluation of a carcinogenicity hazard. Previously, there were five categories corresponding to groups 1, 2A, 2B, 3 and 4. The update removed group 4 (probably not carcinogenic to humans).
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Medical Xpress – Among women in Chicago, African Americans and Hispanics were exposed to higher levels of ambient toxic heavy metals compared with non-Hispanic whites, and this increased exposure correlated with increased incidence of breast cancer, according to preliminary results presented at a recent American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference.
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Occupational Cancer Research Centre – Burden of Occupational Cancer in Canada presents estimates of occupational exposure and the associated burden of cancer by industry, as well as exposure reduction strategies for the most common occupational carcinogens in Canada. A major feature of the report is the evidence-based policy recommendations directed at government, occupational health and safety systems, employers and non-governmental organizations.
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epidemiological evidence, animal bioassays, and mechanistic and other relevant data to reach conclusions as to the carcinogenic hazard to humans of environmental or occupational exposure to these agents.
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American Journal of Epidemiology – To investigate lung cancer risk of welding fumes, hexavalent chromium, and nickel, researchers analyzed data from two German case-control studies. They developed a welding-process exposure-matrix from measurements of these agents, which was linked with welding histories from a job-specific questionnaire to calculate cumulative exposure variables. They found that welding fumes, hexavalent chromium, and nickel may contribute independently to the excess lung cancer risk associated with welding.
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Canadian Journal of Public Health – This study estimated the number of workers exposed to SHS in Canada in 2006 and 2016 and their level of exposure. The study authors found that the number of exposed workers decreased by 20% from 520,000 in 2006 to 418,000 in 2016, and that trades, transport and equipment operators, and workers in primary industry had the highest rates of overall exposure. The findings can help prioritize high-risk groups for interventions and inform studies of the burden of occupational disease.
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CTV News – Disease related to asbestos exposure continues to be the leading cause of death in the province, WorkSafe Saskatchewan says. Asbestos accounts for 23 per cent of 388 work-related deaths in Saskatchewan between 2009 and 2018, WorkSafe said in a news release. Many homes and buildings built before 1990 still contain asbestos, so contractors and homeowners doing renovations may be putting themselves at risk of exposure to asbestos.
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BC Lung Association – The 2019 BC State of the Air Report is now available. Published annually by the BC Lung Association’s Air Quality and Health Steering Committee, the report provides a snapshot of key air quality issues across the province and includes articles on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air quality sensors and wildfire smoke.
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Occupational and Environmental Medicine – The causes of kidney cancer are not well understood although occupational exposures are thought to play a role. Crystalline silica is a known human carcinogen, and despite previous links with kidney disease, few studies have investigated its association with kidney cancer. Researchers addressed this knowledge gap using a population-based case-control study of Canadian men. Their study did not find that occupational exposure to crystalline silica increases risk of kidney cancer in men.
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