Occupational exposures to carcinogens in developing countries.

Abstract

There have been very few studies of exposure to occupational carcinogens in developing countries, and even fewer studies of the health consequences of such exposures. However, all industrial chemicals, occupations and industrial processes classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 1 or Group 2A (carcinogenic or possibly carcinogenic to humans) have been described in developing countries, and there is growing concern that the health impact of many chemicals used in the developing world has been underestimated. In all regions a very large workforce is employed in the construction industry, in which substantial exposure to asbestos may occur, and there has been a rapid increase in production in countries such as Brazil and India. There is, for instance, a similar pattern for tyre production with a large increase in production in developing countries in the 1980s. Thus, the number of workers in industries entailing a carcinogenic risk is increasing in developing countries, partly as a result of the transfer of hazardous industry from industrialized countries. There is much that could be achieved in the prevention of occupational cancer in developing countries, and there have been a number of successful initiatives. However, the greatest progress in the prevention of occupational cancer in developing countries is most likely to come from political and economic changes.

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