ETUI Monthly Forum: Occupational Cancer in Europe
At this ETUI Monthly Forum, Jukka Takala, former Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and international occupational health expert, will present the latest findings on occupational cancer.
Occupational cancer is the biggest work-related cause of death in the EU28 and is gradually reaching the same status in the rest of the world. The number of casualties continues to rise. Recently it has been argued that the causes of cancer are “random” and very little can be done to prevent it. This view has been strongly rejected by the scientific community, the World Health Organization (WHO)/ the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and others who consider it unethical to accept high levels of workplace exposures that could be tackled systematically. There is a need for policies to eliminate occupational exposures both in Europe and globally by adopting a ‘Zero Harm’ target in workplaces. The current state of inactivity could lead to a disaster that would also affect the younger generation of workers, a phenomenon that has already been demonstrated by past failures.
The presentation will be based on Takala’s recent ETUI Working paper, the EU Presidency Conference materials on Occupational Carcinogens from May 2016, published data from the Global Burden of Injury and Disease (GBD) and other recent research.
Speaker: Jukka Takala, Senior Consultant to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Workplace Safety and Health Institute
Comments: Esther Lynch, Confederal Secretary ETUC
Moderator: Philippe Pochet, General Director ETUI
