According to a UN study, UV radiation when working outdoors leads to around 19,000 deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer worldwide every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) published an estimate of such work-related deaths for the first time in Geneva on Wednesday. One in three fatal cases of this type of cancer can be traced back to solar radiation at work, the study said.
Work-related deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer due to UV exposure almost doubled between 2000 and 2019. The reasons for this have not yet been researched. Experts from the ILO and WHO cited more precise diagnoses, climate change, and changes in the agricultural and construction sectors as possible factors.
“A safe and healthy environment is a fundamental labor right,” said ILO Director General Gilbert Houngbo. He pointed out that cancer deaths could be prevented cost-effectively. The WHO called for workers to be protected from UV radiation from a young age – for example with wide-brimmed headgear, long sleeves and trousers and sunscreen.
In addition, according to the WHO, work shifts should be rescheduled so that they do not fall during the time when the sun is at its highest. This is already being implemented in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said WHO expert Frank Pega. He also named the US state of California, where workers have a right to shade, and China, which has heat restrictions on outdoor work. However, Pega pointed out that 61 percent of all working people worldwide are employed informally and are therefore often not protected by occupational health and safety rules.
The study only covers non-melanotic skin cancer, commonly known as non-melanoma skin cancer. However, melanomas, which appear as dark changes in the skin, were not taken into account. According to Pega, it has not yet been possible to statistically record the connection between occupational UV radiation and this often fatal type of cancer. It will probably take a few years before the overall skin cancer risk for workers can be calculated, he said.
