Working outdoors in the sun fuelling skin cancer rates

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said new figures suggesting nearly one in three deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer are caused by working in the sun need to be a “catalyst for action”.

The figures, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO), have shown that nearly 19,000 people in 183 countries died in 2019 from skin cancer after working outdoors in the sun. The majority (65%) of these were male.

The two organisations have estimated that 1.6 billion people of working age were exposed to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation while working outside in 2019, equivalent to 28% of the world’s working population.

“Unprotected exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation at work is a major cause of occupational skin cancer,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “But there are effective solutions to protect workers from the sun’s harmful rays, and prevent their deadly effects.”

The estimates established occupational exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation as the work-related risk factor with the third highest attributable burden of cancer deaths globally.

Between 2000 and 2019, skin cancer deaths attributable to occupational exposure to sunlight almost doubled (increasing by 88% from 10,088 deaths in 2000 to 18,960 deaths in 2019), the WHO added.

Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy at IOSH, described the data, published in the journal Environment International, as “alarming” and said businesses cannot afford to ignore it.

She said: “This new data is alarming and must be the catalyst for action. It’s unacceptable that people are having their lives cut short because of the work they do.

“While outdoor work is unavoidable in many industries, there are many ways in which unprotected exposure to ultra-violet light from the sun can be prevented and protection measures put in place.

“We are calling for businesses to review their policies and risk assessments around outdoor work and ensure they are doing all they can to protect people from harm.

“With so much information out there about the preventing skin cancers, there are no excuses for not taking action.”

IOSH’s No Time to Lose occupational cancer campaign includes a suite of resources on managing exposure to solar UV radiation at work. Its recommendations include:

• Avoiding or minimising exposure to direct sunlight in the middle of the day (as 60% of daily UV occurs between 10am and 2pm.
• Regularly swapping job tasks between workers so everyone in the team can spend time in the shade.
• Using heavy-duty cover or shade when working outdoors in the sun.
• Ensuring there are shaded or indoor areas for rest breaks and water points.
• Encouraging the wearing of long-sleeved, loose-fitting tops and trousers, taking note of the ultraviolet protection factor of the clothing, and wide-brimmed hats that shade the face, head, ears and neck.