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Occupational exposure to carcinogens in Australian road transport workers
Si Si1, Renee Carey1, Alison Reid1
1School of Public Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.
Background:
Road transport workers (RTWs) are at high risk of exposure to several occupational carcinogens. However, there are gaps in knowledge regarding the extent and the circumstances of exposure. As a sub-study of the Australian Work Exposures Study, this study investigated the prevalence of occupational exposure in Australian RTWs.
Methods:
A random sample of Australian working population was invited to a telephone interview regarding their current jobs. An automated expert-assessment procedure was applied to self-reported job-related tasks using a web-based application. 162 RTWs were included in this study.
Results:
RTWs were exposed to diesel exhaust (97%), solar ultraviolet radiation (78%), environmental tobacco smoke (55%), benzene (29%), silica (15%), and asbestos (10%) at work. Besides driving on roads, vehicle maintenance-related tasks were the major source of carcinogen exposures among RTWs.
Discussion:
Most RTWs are exposed to at least one carcinogen at work. We have identified tasks where the use of control measures could potentially reduce exposures.
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