New European partners joined; a refreshed strategy will strengthen effort as the ‘Roadmap on Carcinogens’ is heading from Berlin 2020 to Brussels 2024. The battle against occupational cancer continues! Neither falling from heights, nor machine accidents are responsible for the highest numbers of work-related deaths… Cause no. 1 is cancer, because workers are exposed to […]

Each year, about 120,000 work-related cancer cases occur as a result of exposure to carcinogens at work in the EU, leading to approximately 80,000 fatalities annually. To improve workers’ protection against cancer, the European Commission has proposed to further limit their exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. This fourth revision of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive sets […]

Europe’s fight against cancer is ongoing and requires everyone’s involvement. The European Commission is working on a new plan and wants to place European citizens at the centre. Therefore, the Commission invites all interested individuals and organisations to contribute to a public consultation. Friends of the Roadmap on Carcinogens are especially invited to make sure […]

Work-related cancer remains the biggest occupational health challenge in Europe. Through research and awareness raising activities, EU-OSHA contributes actively to the fight against work-related cancer. EU-OSHA is now in the preparatory phase of a survey to collect comprehensive data on the workers’ exposure on cancer risk factors in Europe. The aim of the survey is […]

During the meeting on December 10th, 2019, the Council of the EU adopted conclusions calling on the European Commission to set up a new EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work for the period 2021–2027. While workers in the EU are to a large extent appropriately protected, there is still enough to be […]

The Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER) organizes the Conference “Working together on the future of the limit values system for carcinogens in Europe”. You are most welcome to join the conference on 10 and 11 February 2020 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Registration and program To participate in the conference, please register here. You […]

Policy makers and experts from all over Europe met in Helsinki to explore how to accelerate the fight against work-related cancer. The cooperation will be further strengthened by continuing the Roadmap on Carcinogens campaign, which aims to raise awareness about carcinogens and reduce exposure to them. An agreement on the continuation of the campaign was […]

As part of the EU Presidency program, Finland is organizing the Roadmap on Carcinogens conference ‘Working together to eliminate occupational cancer’ on 27 and 28 November in Helsinki. At this conference, the Roadmap Partners will review the achievements of the past years and will look forward to further developments in legislation, activities and cooperation. Download […]

Some groups of workers are more at risk than others when exposed to dangerous substances. This can happen because these workers are inexperienced, uninformed or physically more vulnerable. Other reasons include frequent change of jobs, or working in sectors where awareness is low, or because of greater or different physiological sensitivity. New infosheet on vulnerable […]

The Roadmap on carcinogens is all about identifying solutions and sharing good practices between businesses and organisations. But what if you are new to the subject and want to know the basics? That’s why today the Roadmap presents two new documents: the infosheet ‘Carcinogens at Work’ on EU-OSHA’s website and a new addition to the […]

Heidi Boussen, Director Safe and healthy work environment at the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment summarised the main challenges: “The sectoral organisations that presented their approach show that we need to translate policy to the shop floor. We need to get away from a high level of abstraction and offer pragmatic solutions adjusted […]

On 19 June 2019, the Official Journal of the European Union published the text of the third revision of the CMD: the directive protecting workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (Directive 2019/983 (EU), amending Directive 2004/37/EC). The revision not only introduces four new occupational exposure limit values (OELVs) […]

In an episode of ‘Real Economy’, Euronews published the video ‘Occupational cancer – how to minimise risks’. In this video, we discover the economical impact of work-related ill-health and injury. We see which measures are taken by a Croatian lumber factory and EU-OSHA director Christa Sedlatschek shares the measures taken by the EU. Estimated costs […]

A new study, based on collected data from several publicly available sources, has identified the substances and sectors that pose the greatest risk to workers in the EU. The top 5 most dangerous substances are: silica, asbestos, solvents, non-infectious biological agents and wood dust. The top 5 sectors at risk are: Trade and repair of […]

The European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission reached a provisional agreement on the Commission’s third proposal to broaden the list of recognised cancer-causing chemicals in the workplace. With this agreement, 5 additional cancer-causing chemicals will be covered by the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD). This agreement will, for instance, ensure better protection […]

Work on the prevention of occupational cancer in women is facing some challenges. Epidemiological research in this area focuses far more often on men than on women. There is a stereotype of occupational cancer only being an issue for male professions in traditional industries. The ETUI has organised a conference ‘Women, work and cancer, which took […]

Updated regulations from the European front. The European Parliament has adopted the European Commission’s proposal to further update the rules concerning carcinogens in the workplace. Five additional cancer-causing substances are added to the carcinogens Directive with the third amendment. Exposure limites and/or skin notations are concerned of Cadmium, Beryllium, Arsenic acid, Formaldehyde and MOCA (4,4’Methylene-bis(2-chloroaniline)). Next […]

The latest issue of HesaMag, the magazine of the European Trade Union Institute on OSH and working conditions, focusses on work-related cancer. The title “emerging from obscurity” is related to the low visibility of the phenomenon. This might be because the majority of the affected population of work-related cancer are ‘silent workers’, in other words, blue-collar […]

Tony Musu and Laurent Vogel from the European Trade Union Institute bring the contributions of 28 experts together in “Cancer and work: understanding occupational cancers and taking action to eliminate them.” The only recently released volume combines a richness of material on the latest knowledge on the issue, new prevention practices, legislation and the recognition […]

All presentations from the Austrian presidency conference have been published and can be found here: Conference programme Dietmar Hammer, Team Styria – “Protection against carcinogens – simple measures – big success” Dr. David Tjong Respirable Crystaline Sylica – practical solutions Dr. Vincent Ho, IOSH No Time to Lose  Laurie Hermans, Roadmap on carcinogens, State of play 2016 – […]

Vienna, 24 september 2018 Today the Roadmap on Carcinogens made an important pit stop in Vienna on its journey to tackle work-related cancer. The Austrian government is one of the six founding partners of the Roadmap since the start in Amsterdam in May 2016 during the Dutch EU Presidency conference. Austria holds the Presidency of the […]

Feel like sharing information regarding carcinogenic substances in an easy and accessible way? Look no further, as the roadmap on carcinogens published 10 ready-to-use factsheets on asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS), vinyl chloride, chromium VI, hardwood dust, welding fumes, silica dust, diesel engine exhaust, and benzene. In the factsheets, attention is paid to the risks, […]

Interested in events, conferences or workshops concerning carcinogenic substances near you? Have a look at the event’s overview and have your pick. Prefer to read up on the latest developments? Have a little bit more patience as the European Trade Union Institute is about to come up with interesting materials. In June, the ETUI will […]

Sharing knowledge is vital to help companies find good solutions with regards to carcinogens in the workplace. To see all new entries, we invite you to take a look at the good practices overview, where more good practices will be published soon. Currently 51 solutions are published, and by the end of this year we […]

Ireland is now an official partner of the Roadmap on Carcinogens. Mr Pat Breen, the Irish Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection signed a written commitment in support.  Ireland will become increasingly engaged with other Members states on the important topic of carcinogens. Let’s give Ireland a warm welcome: […]

Around 1.6 million people of working age are diagnosed with cancer in Europe each year. Thanks to medical advancements, the number of cancer survivors is rising and more recovered patients return to work. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA, one of the six partners), provides an overview of what is known […]

Cancer is the leading cause of work-related deaths in the European Union. The diagnosis of these cancers is usually made many years after exposure has taken place, which complicates the matter. The good news is that occupational cancers can be prevented by avoiding risks of exposure to carcinogenic chemical agents in the workplace. How to […]

One year ago the covenant on carcinogens has been signed as a symbolic start for the Roadmap Amsterdam – Vienna; leading us through Europe and even beyond. Many friendships have been formed, gave inspiration for activities in various countries and published the first good practices which help companies prevent exposure to carcinogens in the workplace. We invite […]

Substitution is the first step in the occupational health hygiene strategy, also when dealing with carcinogens in the workplace. On the 11th of May a Conference on substitution of carcinogens was organised in the Netherlands. The Dutch team of the roadmap co-organized this event and participated with opening remarks and a presentation of the roadmap […]

What is cancer? Why is cancer different? Where are carcinogens? And how to use control measures? Carcinogenic substances in the workplace can be a tricky thing. The best solution in one workplace could be different in another.  Luckily, the Trade Union Councils from the UK developed a guide on cancer and carcinogens in the workplace, […]

Even though many organisations have a somewhat calmer work period in summer, carcinogens in the workplace isn’t a topic which can be ignored in any season. Therefore, the research and training institute of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which is the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), organize an international seminar on chemicals and worker’s […]

The Finnish Minister of Social Affairs and Health Pirkko Mattila has signed a written commitment to join the “Roadmap on Carcinogens” in March 2017. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health organized a seminar “Work-related cancer can be prevented” for social partners and experts in occupational safety and health on 6th March 2017. There were […]

The roadmap on carcinogens website is now sharing information on two interesting events which are coming up in the next few months. The first event is the Austrian campaign on carcinogens – taking place from June 2017 onwards. The Austrian government recognizes the importance of carcinogen awareness and exposure prevention. Therefore, they are conducting a […]

Europe has been busy developing and discussing the appropriate measures for carcinogen exposure for some time. Last year, the first batch of proposals for measures against carcinogens was realized. Early in 2017, the second batch is being released with the potential release of a third batch of measures later on. The current EU strategy is to […]

A new solution about dust in the workplace was recently shared from the UK! Dust is often considered a nuisance, but it can also be a killer in the workplace. For instance, dust can cause cancer in the lungs, asthma, allergies and even heart disease. In the UK, a guideline about dust was published to […]

The Roadmap on carcinogens has drafted a few essential rules that apply whenever carcinogenic substances are used in any workplace. Let’s give you a heads up of the most important rules to live (and work!) by: For workers: Make sure to wash yourself after working with chemicals and carcinogens, pay special attention to hands and […]